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GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES 



COMPILED FROM 



CONSULAR REPORTS AND OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS 



BY 



EDWARD D, McQueen gray 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1909 












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GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES 



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COMPILED FROM 



CONSULAR REPORTS AND OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS 



BY 



EDWARD D. McQueen gray 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1909 



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CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Introduction 1 

General governmental participation in land reclamation 5 

Austria 5 

Belgium 8 

France 11 

Germany 15 

Prussia 15 

Saxe-Coburg and Gotlia 19 

Wurttemberg 19 

Italy 19 

General statement 19 

Irrigation in northwestern Italy 22 

The Netherlands 25 

General statement 25 

The unwatering of the Zuider Zee 30 

Irrigation in the Netherlands 33 

Russia 34 

General statement 34 

Irrigation in the South of Russia 35 

Spain 38 

Switzerland 41 

Algeria 43 

Irrigation in the Tell 43 

Duty of water 45 

The Cheurfas barrage 45 

The Habra barrage 46 

Irrigation in the Grands Plateaux 46 

Irrigation in the Sahara . 46 

The drainage of the marshes 47 

Protection against the floods 48 

Cape Colony 48 

Egypt 54 

The Transvaal 57 

General statement 57 

Christiana project 60 

The water bill of 1908 62 

Argentina 63 

^ Canada 66 

General statement 66 

British Columbia 69 

Dominica 70 

Ceylon 71 

Formosa 72 

India 73 

General statement 73 

Private irrigation works 75 

Bhandara project 77 

Native methods of irrigation 78 

Well irrigation 78 

Extract from the report of the irrigation branch of the public 

works department of the United Provinces for 1905-6 80 

Statistics- 80 

Extract from the administration report of the irrigation branch 

of the United Provinces for the year 1906-7 82 

Reclamation of waste land through irrigation 82 

in 



IV CONTENTS. 

General governmental participation in land reclamation — Continued. Page. 

Java 83 

Siam .: 84 

Victoria, Australia 85 

Land reclamation 87 

Reclamation by irrigation 87 

Loddon national works 87 

Kow Swamp national works 88 

Lake Lonsdale reservoir 88 

The Mildura trust 88 

New South Wales 89 

Artesian bores 89 

Wentworth irrigation area 90 

Murrumbidgee irrigation scheme— -. 90 

South Australia 91 

The Interstate Commission on the River Murray, 1902 92 

Navigation, general water supply and irrigation 94 

Legal aspect of state rights and principles to be adopted in 

apportionment of waters 95 

Division of available water among the States 98 

Control of the river and its tributaries 98 

New Zealand 99 

Government participation in drainage and unwatering only, in — 

Denmark 102 

Greece 103 

Reclamation of Lake Copais 104 

Mexico 105 

Norway 106 

Sweden 107 

Reclamation by private enterprise in — 

Brazils 108 

Chile - 108 

China 109 

Ecuador 110 

Persia 112 

Peru 113 

Salvador 113 

Servia 113 

Turkey 114 



I 



GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



By Edward D. McQueen Gray. 



rNTRODUCTIOI^. 



On the 8th of March, 1907, a department circular, embodying a 
series of questions with respect to the nature and extent of the par- 
ticipation of foreign governments in the reclamation of land by 
means of irrigation, drainage, and unwatering, was addressed by the 
Department of State to consular officers abroad. The questions were 
as follows: 

(1) What aid is extended by the Government to districts, munici- 
palities; or private persons in the planning and execution of reclamation, drain- 
age and irrigation works? 

(2) Are works in any of these classes executed by the Government, or does 
the Government aid in their construction by making the necessary investiga- 
tions and plans or by the contribution of funds, by extending its credit, or by 
subsidy? 

(3) Does the Government, when it contributes to such work, recover its 
outlay? If so, what provisions are made for reimbursement? 

(4) Is there any general law defining the aid which the Government may 
extend to provinces, to municipalities, to corporations, or to private parties for 
the execution of works which are to be of more than local benefit ; and if so, to 
what class of work does the same apply? What are the provisions of the law? 
If convenient, 'furnish the full text of the law, translated w^hen necessary. If 
the Government contributes to the cost of such works and the funds thus ad- 
vanced are to be repaid, what is the rate of interest charged? 

(5) To what extent do the districts or corporations or private interests par- 
ticipate in planning and in directing the execution of the works? 

(6) What branch of the Government plans and constructs such works? 

(7) For what length of time does the management of works in whose con- 
struction the Government has aided by financial contribution remain in the 
hands of the government officials? 

(8) What conditions are always or usually imposed when the Government, 
by general or specific enactment, extends aid to enterprises of the character 
above named? 

(9) How are costs apportioned to the Government, to provinces or States, 
to districts or municipalities, and to corporations or private individuals in case 
the Government participates in the execution of an enterprise by advancing the 
funds in whole or in part for the acquisition of the necessary properties and 
the construction of works? 

(10) Give some specific examples, preferably of land reclamation work by 
protection against overflow, or by drainage, and of irrigation work. 

(11) If a government concession makes land reclamation by irrigation or 
drainage possible, how and under what restrictions is the land made available 
for the farmer? In such cases are there any restrictions (1) as to the area of 



2 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

public land whicti can be acquired by any one person, (2) amount of private 
land benefited held by any one person, (3)- as to location of residence of owner 
on or near the landV 

(12) What printed statistical or other material relating to these matters is 
available? 

In reply to this circular 75 consular reports were received and 
referred to the Reclamation Service as originating the inquiry. 
These reports are classified as follows: 

I. Affirmative with respect to government participation in land reclamation 
in general. The substance of these reports is given on pages 6 to 102. 

II. Affirmative with respect to government participation in land reclamation 
by drainage and unwatering only. The substance of these reports is given on 
pages 102 to 108. 

III. Affirmative with respect to land reclamation by private enterprise, but 
negative in regard to government participation therein. The substance of 
these reports is given on pages 108 to 115. 

IV. Negative in regard to land reclamation in general. It has not seemed 
necessary to print these reports. 

It is to be regretted that returns have not been forthcoming from 
several countries in which land reclamation plays an important part 
in national economics, and also that some of the reports submitted 
were so meager as to be of little value. Others again, while more 
prolix, being couched in general terms, were not sufficiently precise 
or technical to be serviceable, either from an administrative or engi- 
neering standpoint. On the other hand, several of the reports 
showed that the writers had taken considerable pains to secure 
accurate information and these, especially when accompanied by offi- 
cial documents, were all that could be expected. Furthermore, in 
response to a direct request from the editor, copies of the annual re- 
ports of reclamation services were received from a number of foreign 
Governments; so that this digest, although necessarily concise, is 
fairly comprehensive. 

In summarizing the matter contained in the following pages it 
may be remarked that no category of public works presents a greater 
variety of conditions than those which are comprised in the opera- 
tions of a reclamation service, and that it is consequently impossible 
to lay down any rigid set of rules for general application ; each case 
is tried and decided upon its merits, and procedure, even within the 
limits of a single province or canton, will usually be of the pro re 
nata order. The law provides the general principle, but a wide range 
is permitted in the particular application. Thus, in Prussia, the 
state subsidy varies between 20 and 60 per cent of the capital outlay ; 
in Italy the syndicate interested may be assessed as little as 20 per 
cent, or as much as 70 per cent of the total cost ; in Cape Colony the 
government may lend from 25 to 75 per cent of the value of the prop- 
erty at a low rate of interest ; while even in India, where government 
irrigation work is expected to be a remunerative investment, vast 
reclamation enterprises, which offer no likelihood of being worked at 
a profit, are regularly undertaken with imperial sanction in the public 
interest. 

Moreover, physical and climatic conditions, and the constituents 
of soil and water vary not merely between country and country, but 
between district and district to such an extent that the problems 
which call for solution in one part of the same country are frequently 
essentially distinct from those which present themselves in another. 



INTRODUCTION. 3 

The Lombard plain and Pontine district in Italy; tlio Znidor Zeo 
and the Kempen in the Netherlands; the Tell and Sahara districts in 
Al<i:eria are instances of this opposition of cii'cunislances. 

Comparison, therefore, between the methods followed in land 
reclamaticm in the United States and those pursued in other countries, 
unless contingently restricted, would in all likelihood prove mislead- 
ing; and this is especially pertinent with respect to two of the most 
important items thereof; construction work and water rentals. The 
experience of the Indian engineers with respect to Smart's shutters 
and superstructures on weir crests is hardly applicable in a country 
whose rivers, with few exceptions, have a concentration of silt load 
less than one-sixth that of the Indus; nor could the masonry work 
on the Cavour (\inal be reproduced here except at a cost to the 
landholder little short of ruinous. And with respect to rentals — 
perhaps the most important consideration in any reclamation pro- 
ject — the systems in vogue in those countries where watcu- storage 
and supply have been a leading factor in economics for many cen- 
turies can hardly be regarded in this (country for many yeai's to come 
with other than an academic interest. To attempt to introduce here 
the system of compound classification of water rentals, which en- 
deavors so to combine the two chief components — value of crop and 
distance from market — as to produce a coefficient that shall ecjualize 
as far as possible agricultural conditions tliroughout the whole of an 
irrigation district, would be to give the signal for wasteful and disas- 
trous disputes and bickerings innumerable. Nor is the double fasl 
system of India, according to which two water rentals — one for the 
Kharif, the other for the Rabi crops — are obtained from the ryot, 
feasible or even desirable in this country, where it is usually to the 
interest of an irrigation system to close the canals during a consid- 
erable poi-tion of the year. 

It is, however, noteworthy that in the countries governmentally 
interested in reclamation, all such operations are conducted under a 
service head of a department of public works. Thus, everywhere 
abi'oad we find such naturally correlated problems of national intc^i'est 
as irrigation, drainage, control of water courses, inland navigation, 
harbor improvements, and the like, assigned to an appropriate divi- 
sion of public works. Sometimes, as in the Netherlands, the reclama- 
tion question is so important as to demand the services of a state 
department to itself; sometimes, as in Italy, irrigation and drainage 
problems are handled by the public works department in consultation 
wMth the ministry of agriculture and industry, both being financially 
subordinated to the ministry of the treasury; but in every foreign 
country all matters involving national action of this character are 
referred to some one branch of the administration specially equipped 
to deal with them. In this way all questions of water control and 
supply, which are naturally interdependent, not antagonistic, are 
studied in relation to one another, and the energy which would 
otherwise be lost in opposition and rivalry, is conserved and advan- 
tageously applied. 

Another arrangement w^hich seems worthy of consideration is the 
provision made in many countries for the evaluation, by means of a 
competent staff of government engineers, of those enterprises which 
the Government for various reasons is either not invited or unwilling 



4 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

to undertake. For a moderate fee, varying according to the extent 
of the proposed enterprise, the Government will render a report not 
merely upon the engineering feasibility of the project, but also upon 
its financial prospects. The report will include a complete survey 
of the territory in question, plans and specifications, with estimates 
of probable cost of the constructions recommended by the government 
engineers ; and also, in view of an application being made for finan- 
cial assistance, a statement of the amount of the burden which may 
properly be laid upon the land benefited and the proportion thereof 
Avhich may be safely advanced thereon. Armed with this report, the 
landowners or syndicate interested can go before the provincial or 
central government or apply for private capital to enable them to 
carry out the scheme. The Government will also, if required to do so 
(but in any case, if a government loan is procured), exercise control 
over the construction work and even over the maintenance of the 
system when in operation. When it is desired to carry out such a 
project with private capital, the government report gives a stability 
to the scheme which would otherwise be lacking and provides by the 
clause limiting the amount of the investment a valuable safeguard 
against overcapitalization and the watering of stock. It need hardly 
be stated that in these cases neither the original capital nor any 
subsequent additions thereto may be applied for except with the 
consent of the minister of the department concerned. 

Another head of service in foreign public works which merits at- 
tention is the one known in Cape Colony, the Transvaal, and the 
Australian States as the " Boring Branch." Operating under differ- 
ent laws in different colonies, the principle is practically the same and 
consists in boring wells, largely at government expense, in remote 
parts of the country, for farmers and others who are unable to pro- 
vide the necessary equipment. The government outfit is moved from 
one up-country station to another at the expense of the landowners, 
who also provide fuel, feed, and water, and defray about one-third 
of the actual cost of boring, the remainder being chargeable to the 
irrigation branch. In this manner many distant stations are fur- 
nished with permanent stock water and the productiveness of the 
whole area is greatly increased. In the artesian districts in New 
South Wales the water supply is under government control, no one 
being allowed to sink a well without a license, so that the interests of 
those already dependent upon the existing supply may be protected 
and the water of the whole area controlled and operated in the public 
interest. Some of the artesian systems thus controlled command 
more than 1,000,000 acres, the supply being conveyed in pipes and 
channels to every part of the district. 

The above instances of a procedure varying from our own, which 
yet merits serious study and consideration, might easily be extended ; 
but sufficient have been adduced to show that a perusal of the fol- 
lowing pages may not merely prove of interest to the reclamation 
engineer, but furnish food for thought to those who are actively 
concerned in promoting the national welfare. 



GOVEENMENT KECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 5 

GEJNlEIlAIi GOTER:NTVIEXTAIi PARTICIPATION IN LAND 

RECI.AMATION. 

AUSTRIA. 

Government intervention and assistance in the reclamation of land, 
either by the regulation of water courses, drainage, or irrigation, are 
furnished both by the government of the province in which the area 
to be reclaimed is situated, acting through the provincial legislature, 
and by the Imperial Government, acting through the ministry of 
agriculture. 

All ordinary contributions from the Imperial Government are 
furnished from a reclamation fund, placed at the disposal of the 
minister of agriculture, and arising from an annually voted appro- 
priation of 1,000,000 crowns (about $200,000) , according to the pro- 
visions of the water law of 1884. The minister of agriculture is 
required to submit an account of the administration of this fund 
every year to the imperial parliament. The intention is to so ad- 
minister the fund that all provinces applying for relief may, as far 
as possible, benefit equally. 

The ordinary contributions from the reclamation fund are made 
upon application from the province interested, a special provincial 
law, approving the project and defining the character of the aid to be 
extended by the provincial government and applied for to the Im- 
perial Government, having previously been passed by the provincial 
legislature. 

For extraordinary contributions, such as those providing for relief 
to flooded districts, the regulation of a dangerous water course of 
unusual extent, the protection of riparian territory against annual 
submersion, or reclamation work of more than ordinary magnitude 
and importance, special legislation is necessary, the usual course being 
for a bill asking for the requisite appropriation to be presented to the 
imperial parliament, either by the minister of agriculture, or with 
his approval and support 

The financial aid extended by the imperial and provincial govern- 
ments to reclamation projects is regulated as follows: 

AATien government aid is desired in the reclamation of land, the 
parties directly interested — that is, the district, commune, or water 
association concerned in the enterprise — submit a petition to the pro- 
vincial legislature asking for assistance, or present a bill to the same 
effect. The project, if favorably considered, is referred to a com- 
mittee, who decide whether the work in question is to be under- 
taken, as — 

(1) A provincial enterprise, part of the cost whereof is to be borne 
by the parties directly interested; or (2) a district, communal, or 
water association enterprise, part of the cost whereof is to be borne 
by the provincial government. 

In the case of (1) the parties directly interested may be assessed 
up to, but not exceeding, 30 per cent of the estimated cost of the 
enterprise. The amount contributable from the reclamation fund 
may not exceed 30 per cent of the estimated cost (except as regards 



6 GOVEENMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

the regulation of water courses, when the imperial contribution may- 
be raised to 50 per cent of the estimated cost of the enterprise) . 

The work is then carried out as a provincial undertaking, and the 
balance of the cost is provided for in the provincial budget. 

In the case of (2) the contribution obtainable from the provincial 
government is classified under two heads: (A) Protection of prop- 
erty against devastation by water, i. e., floods, breaking of river banks 
or levees, deposit in river channels, etc. ; or (B) amelioration of prop- 
erty, either by drainage or irrigation. 

In case of (A) the provincial contribution may not be less than 30 
l)er cent of the estimated cost of the enterprise. The amount con- 
tributable from the reclamation fund may be equal to that granted by 
the provincial government. 

In case of (B) the aid extended by the provincial government may- 
take the form of either (a) a contribution of not less than 20 per 
cent of the estimated cost of the enterprise; or (b) a loan, bearing 
interest at the rate of not more than 4 per cent per annum, repayable 
in fixed installments of not less than 30 per cent of the estimated 
cost. In this case the contribution from the reclamation fund may 
also take the form of either a grant or a loan, no higher amount being 
contributable than that contributed by the provincial government. 

Generally speaking, the operation of the various enactments for 
the promotion and subvention of reclamation enterprises is to divide 
the cost of these enterprises equally between the Imperial Govern- 
ment, the provincial government, and the parties directly interested. 
^Vhen these parties are represented by a district or commune, the 
government grants are usually nonrepayable; but when the work is 
undertaken by a water association, the government contributions 
generally take the form of a loan, amounting to about one-half of the 
estimated cost, bearing interest at 4 per cent per annum and repayable 
in equal annual installments. 

In case a water association finds itself, owing to the act of God, in 
a state of temporary insolvency, the minister of agriculture may 
advance from the reclamation fund a sum sufficient to enable the 
association to meet its obligations. This loan bears interest, at not 
more than 4 per cent, and is repayable in not more than five equal 
annual installments. 

Besides the above financial assistance, the subsidized enterprises 
enjoy exemption from taxation by stamp duties connected with the 
transactions they have with the Government, by income tax on the 
interest on their debentures, etc. 

All construction plans, whether for drainage, irrigation, or any 
other reclamation work of a public character, must be prepared by the 
engineers of the board of works in the province interested, and these 
plans are supplied free of charge to the district, commune, or 
association. 

All construction work is done by public contract, the bids being 
submitted to the engineers of the board of works for their decision. 
The works are constructed under the supervision of the provincial 
engineers. 

After construction, the maintenance of the works devolves upon a 
water association formed for the purpose. All expenditure in excess 
of the estimated cost must be borne by the water associations. 



AUSTRIA. 7 

The following is a transcript of the portion of the law of June, 
1884, relating to land reclamation : 

I. Subject to the provisions of this law, the (lOveriiment may grant financial 
assistance from the amelioration fund for the subvention of enterprises having 
for their object the protection of landed property against floods, or the en- 
hancement of the value of such property by means of drainage or .irrigation. 
But when an enterprise of public utility and advantage requires, owing to 
its importance or costliness, a subvention so great that the annual sum placed 
at the disposal of the ministry of agriculture would be depleted to the prejudice 
of other deserving enterprises, the decision as to the amount and source of 
the Government subvention lies with the imperial parliament. 

II. For the creation of the aforesaid amelioration fund the sum of 1,000,000 
crowns (about $200,000) is included in the annual budget of the minister of 
agriculture. All repayments of capital and interest on advances are returned 
to the fund, and the surplus in hand at the close of each fiscal year is to be 
invested in interest-bearing securities. The amelioration fund is administered 
by the minister of agriculture, in conjunction with the minister of finance. 
These ministers dispose of the amounts to be contributed in accordance with 
the requirements of the budget as approved by the parliament. A report of the 
condition and management of the fund is to be submitted annually to parlia- 
ment. 

III. The contributions from the amelioration fund are to be so distributed 
among the provinces as to equalize as far as possible this branch of economic 
development in the dilTerent provinces of the Empire. 

IV. The enterprise calling for subvention must be defined by a provincial 
law specially passed in its favor as either — 

(0) An enterprise to be carried out by provincial funds, the proportion levi- 
able from the interested parties — whether districts, communes, or water associa- 
tions — being limited to not more than 30 per cent of the total estimated cost of 
the undertaking; or 

(b) An enterprise to be carried out by certain districts, communes, or water 
associations, and subsidized from provincial funds, in which case the subsidy is 
limited as follows: 

(1) For the protection of property against damage by water (breaking 
levees, silting up of channels, floods, etc.), a nonrepayable contribution of at 
least 30 per cent of the total estimated cost ; or 

(2) For reclamation or amelioration of property by irrigation or drainage, a 
nonrepayable contribution of at least 20 per cent of the total cost, or a loan 
carrying interest of not more than 4 per cent per annum, or not less than 30 
per cent of the total estimated cost, repayable in fixed installments. 

V. Furthermore, the following conditions are attached to the subvention 

(1) The mode of carrying out the enterprise and the estimate of outlay must 
be based upon an agreement made with the Government; 

(2) The Government must be granted a proper supervision of the undertak- 
ing; 

(3) The permanent maintenance of the works to be constructed must be 
guaranteed by provisions in the provincial law governing the building or con- 
struction thereof, and 

(4) In the cases mentioned in (6) of IV, the contribution from the pro- 
vincial government must be assured to the enterprise by the meeting of all the 
obligations which devolve upon the provincial government as the owner of real 
estate. 

VI. The subsidies which can be granted to such amelioration enterprises by 
the Government from the amelioration fund consists of the following: 

(1) In the cases mentioned under (a) of IV, the maximum nonrepayable 
contribution is 30 per cent of the estimated cost ; but if the enterprise has for 
its sole or partial object the diversion or regulation of dangerous streams, the 
contribution to this enterprise, or to the part thereof relating to the diversion 
or regulation, may be increased to 50 per cent of the estimated cost. 

(2) In the cases mentioned under (&) of IV, a nonrepayable contribution or 
a loan carrying 4 per cent per annum interest at most, repayable in fixed install- 
ments, such sum not to exceed that granted by the provincial government. 

VII. Besides the subsidy designated in VI upon the conditions named therein, 
an extraordinary loan may be made to a province in special circumstances 
(terms of repayment being fixed according to the circumstances), up to one-half 
of the sum which the province has to expend in the instance mentioned in IV, 



8 GOVERNMElsTT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

section (a), or which, in the instances enumerated in IV, section (&), it has 
contributed to the enterprise either as a nonrepayable subsidy or as a loan. 

VIII. The obligation of the State as an owner of real estate to make a con- 
tribution according to law is not affected because of a subsidy granted on the 
basis of VI. 

IX. The Government may renounce its claim to land reclaimed by regulative 
work, or to such part of such land as would accrue to the amelioration fund in 
accordance with the law of water rights (whereby a share of the proceeds falls 
to those who bear the cost of the enterprise), in favor of a fund toward the 
maintenance of the work. 

X. If by the act of God the solvency of a water association is temporarily 
impaired, the Government may advance from the amelioration fund a sum 
sufficient to enable the association to meet the interest on its bonded indebted- 
ness, such loan to carry not more than 4 per cent interest per annum, and to be 
repayable in not more than five equal annual installments. 

XI. The subsidizing of smaller reclamation enterprises from the funds at the 
disposal of the minister of agriculture in the Government budget is not inter- 
fered with by the foregoing provisions of this law. 

BELGIUM. 

Active participation by the Belgian Government in land reclama- 
tion through irrigation has been confined to the district known as the 
" Campines," situated in the northeast of Belgium, in the provinces 
of Antwerp and Limburg, and covering a tract of nearly 1,000,000 
acres, originally a sandy waste, interspersed with dunes and marshes, 
and covered with a sparse growth of heath. During a period of acute 
industrial depression about sixty years ago, the Government of the 
day decided to adopt the recommendations of Chief Engineer Kum- 
mer, of the department of bridges and highways, and provide work 
for large numbers of unemployed Avorkmen by attempting the canal- 
ization and reclamation of a portion of the Campine. 

Having obtained authority by a law passed for the purpose in 
March, 1847, to expropriate the vacant lands in the possession of the 
communes, the Government proceeded to carry Kummer's plans into 
effect in the district lying between the Meuse and Scheldt, connecting 
these rivers by a system of main and subsidiary navigable canals. 
Kummer's system consisted in supplying a series of irrigating ditches 
by means of underground sluices from the water level above the locks 
of the canals, the residuary water being returned by catch ditches 
(reservoirs) to the canals below the locks. Systems of irrigation 
by borders and by submersion (for meadow lands) were practised. 

During the years 1848 to 1880 the Government improved and 
equipped altogether 1,328 hectares (3,280 acres), selling the im- 
proved land to private parties. The estimated cost of preparing the 
plots of land, including the original purchase price, was about 
$100 per acre, the land thus reclaimed realizing from $120 to $150 
per acre. Since 1880, the Government has ceased active participation 
in such reclamation work, but has continued to grant permission to 
private individuals and communities to engage in it, and encourages 
the formation of water syndicates (wateringues). By this means 
about 1,800 more acres have been reclaimed within the Campine dis- 
trict, the Government furnishing free of charge all requisite plans 
and estimates. 

All the irrigation sluices and syphons along the canals are con- 
trolled and operated by the Government, the expenses of operation 
and maintenance being divided among the water users in proportion 



BELGIUM. 9 

to the area supplied. This rule applies to private owners and syndi- 
cates alike. There is no governmental restriction as to the amount 
of land each water user may hold or operate, the local communal 
laws covering this matter and also the question of residence. 

During the last ten years the Belgian Government has persistently 
directed the attention of private proprietors and communes to the 
benefits accruing from irrigation ; but the area at present under irri- 
gation does not in all probability exceed 6,000 acres. 

Land reclamation by means of drainage may be said to be confined 
to projects for improving the sanitary condition of the marshy lands 
in the valle3^s of the navigable streams east of the Sambre and Meuse, 
in the provinces of Hainaut, Liege, Namur, and Luxemburg, particu- 
larW in the two last named. Throughout these districts are found 
marshes of limited area, rarely more than 250 acres in extent, whose 
unsanitary condition has seriously affected the inhabitants of the 
surrounding country. Systematized efforts to reclaim these swamps 
have been in progress for more than fifty years. 

The reclamation of nearly all the larger marshes (75 acres and 
upward) that have been drained, has been effected through associa- 
tions (wateringues), either individual or communal. The waterin- 
gues located in the valleys of navigable streams are under the direc- 
tion of the ministry of public works; those in the vallej^s of unnav- 
igable streams under that of the ministry of agriculture. 

Subsidies are granted by the Government for the draining of 
marshy lands and swamps, when their condition is injurious to gen- 
eral health, or as a means of suppressing fogs, and as an aid to 
agriculture. These subsidies are nonrepayable. 

There is no general law defining the aid which the Government 
may grant to provinces, municipalities, corporations, or private par- 
ties for land reclamation ; when it has been decided to execute 
reclamation work at government expense, the State takes entire 
charge until the drainage construction work is completed, and there- 
after the control, supervision, and maintenance of the works are 
vested in the wateringues if the lands belong to private owners united 
in a water association, or in a communal administration board if 
they belong to the communes. The state contribution is usually one- 
half of the total estimated cost. 

The largest marshes which have been reclaimed up to the present 
time do not measure more than 250 acres in extent, and are princi- 
pally found in the province of Luxemburg. The value of such land 
has been doubled and frequently trebled by drainage. The following 
is quoted from the Law of Irrigation of. 1855 : 

15. Every landholder desiring to make use of a natural or artificial water 
supply which he has the right to dispose of, for the irrigation of his property, 
is entitled to bring these waters across intervening land, subject to previous 
payment of a just indemnity. 

16. The owners of the lands below are obliged to receive the water from the 
lands thus irrigated, subject to the indemnity due tJiem. 

17. The same right of transit over intervening land is accorded on the same 
conditions to the owner of a marsh or piece of land wholly or partly submerged, 
in order to procure an outlet for injurious water, as also to the owner of wet 
land which has to be dried by means of open or closed drains. 

18. All buildings, as well as the yards, gardens, parks, and inclosures ap- 
purtenant to dwellings, are excepted from the servitudes named in the three 
preceding sections. 



10 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

19. Any landholder desiring to use water of which he has the right to dispose 
for the irrigation of his property may obtain, subject to the previous payment 
of a just indemnity, the right to abut the works necessary for his appropriation 
of water upon the property of the riparian proprietor opposite. 

20. The riparian landholder upon whose property the works abut may obtain 
the right to the common use of the dam or weir by contributing to the 
expense of the construction and maintenance in proportion to the area of land 
irrigated and the quantity of water used. 

Should the claim to common use not be set up until after the commence- 
ment or completion of the works, the riparian abuttee must bear the entire 
expense of any alterations necessary to adapt the construction to the irrigation 
of his property. 

21. All disputes occasioned by the creation of the servitudes mentioned in 
the preceding sections, the question of the direction of the water conduit, its 
construction and dimensions, the construction work necessary for the intake 
of water, the maintenance of works already constructed and the payments due 
to the owner of the servient or dominant tenement, or to the riparian abuttee, 
shall be brought before the justice of peace of the canton in which the servient 
property is situated. The judge will give due consideration both to the rights 
of property and the economic value of the undertaking. His decision with 
regard to indemnity shall be final up to 100 francs ; above that amount appeal 
may be taken to a superior tribunal. 

22. The Government is authorized, wherever it deems it necessary, to pub- 
lish, upon the advice of the permanent deputation of the provincial council, 
administrative regulations for the formation and organization of wateringues, 
having for their object the drainage, irrigation, or reclamation of land. 

Digest of the royal decree of 1890 relative to the administration of 
the Irrigation Law of 1855 is as follows : 

I. Landholders desirous of making use, for the irrigation of their property, 
of the waters of the canals and navigable and floatable channels of the Campine, 
must procure the permission of the minister of agriculture, industry, and pub- 
lic works, adding to their request a statement of the area to be irrigated and 
a plan of the proposed work. 

II. The said minister will, in conformity with the provisions of the law of 
1855, have control of all operations connected with the intake, use, and discharge 
of these waters. 

III. Every intake of water from the canals of the Campine must be fur- 
nished with : 

(1) Two gauges, divided in centimeters, placed and kept up at the expense 
of the water users, one at the upper and the other at the lower end of each 
intake. 

(2) A sluice gate locked by a key. The gauges and sluice gates are con- 
structed according to the designs and models furnished by the department, 
and installed according to its directions. The keys of the sluice gates are in 
charge of the ofiicials appointed for this purpose. 

IV. The scale plans, drawings, and any other technical information which, 
according to Article II, should accompany the oflicial permission, are supplied 
without charge to the licensees. The traveling expenses of the officials, however, 
who are required to be on the spot to furnish explanations or instruction, and 
the wages of any workmen required for the same purpose, are payable by the 
licensees. 

V. The works are executed according to the rules of good construction and 
in accordance with the directions furnished on the spot by the government 
oflaicials. 

When the works are completed, the licensees must affirm the condition thereof 
by means of a sworn statement drawn up in triplicate, and accompanied by 
yilans, by the engineer in charge of the works. These documents must be 
certified by the licensees and approved on behalf of the minister of agriculture, 
industry, and public works. One copy is sent to the department; the two 
others are intended for the licensees and the engineer. 

VI. Notice of any infraction of the conditions of the permit or of Article 
IV shall be given to licensees in the name of the minister. The licensees, if 
called upon either to comi)lete the works already partly constructed or to 
demolish and reconstruct those portions of the work which have not been 
executed in the prescribed manner, must submit their statement of defense or 



FRANCE. 11 

justification within one week after the service of the notice. If they fall to 
do so, or if their plea is not allowed by the department, they are granted two 
weeks in which to conform to the regnlations; after which the department will 
act in accordance with the i)rovisions of the law of 1855. 

yil. The licensees may not alter the authorized works in any way without a 
special permit to that effect from the department. A service of water once 
established and prescribed may not be stopped without similar authorization. 

YIII. If the conditions contained in the official authorization are found to be 
insufficient the licensees must conform to any additional conditions that may 
be imposed. 

IX. When the department has been requested to regulate matters wdth 
respect to a tract of heath land subdivided among several proprietors and 
irrigated by one or more water intakes in common ownership, it calls the 
proprietors together with a view of arranging their respective interests to the 
general advantage and appoints a president and secretary of the association. 
A written report of each meeting must be made. 

X. Licensees are required to maintain authorized and prescribed works in 
good condition, to the satisfaction of the government officials. 

XI. The annual detail list of maintenance work required of the various water 
users with respect to the unkeep and cleansing of the laterals and drain ditches, 
is sent to the governor of the province within the first fortnight of the month 
of March, in each year, for inspection by the persons interested during the 
three weeks following. The work in question has to be carried out during 
the nonirrigation period. 

XIII. Irrigation water is supplied whenever the proprietors apply for it, ex- 
cept in case of force majeure and stoppage, as provided by the law of 1855, or 
when a scarcity of water or the condition of the canals prevents irrigation, the 
Government being the judge of the circumstances. 

XIV. Licensees or their representatives must give four days' notice of appli- 
cation for irrigating water to the official in charge. They may not allow the 
water furnished them to flow over their land without employing it according 
to the manner prescribed in their license, except by special permission. 

XV. At the end of the irrigating season the sluice gates are hermetically 
closed and the intakes opening from the canals are completely separated from 
them either by check planks, sluice gates placed in the channels, or by coffer- 
dams. 

FRANCE. 

The operations of the French Republic, in respect of reclamation 
work, are under the control of the direction de I'Hydraulique et des 
Ameliorations Agricoles, a bureau of the ministry of agriculture. 

According to the law of August, 1854, plans and preliminary 
studies for the construction of drainage works are provided by the 
bureau free of charge. Similar assistance is also provided toward 
the construction of irrigation and other reclamation works approved 
by the Government, at tlie request of the communes or the associa- 
tions syndicales. 

Irrigation works adjudged to be of sufficient public utility receive 
subsidies from the Government, and in some instances the Gov- 
ernment has guaranteed to the investors in the enterprise an interest 
of 4 per cent per annum for a considerable term of years. According 
to a law passed in 1856 a sum of $20,000,000 was placed in the charge 
of the ministry of agriculture for the purpose of encouraging and 
supporting the construction of drainage and reclamation works, and, 
by an arrangement between the Government and the Credit Foncier, 
that establishment advances the money required by the companies. 
The principal, if not repaid previously, is due in twenty-five years, 
and until its repayment the bank holds a mortgage upon all the prop- 
erty of the company. 



12 GOVEKNMENT KECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

No general law exists defining the aid which the Government may- 
extend to parties constructing irrigation works. The subsidies 
granted by the Government toward the expense of provision against 
overflow of rivers and drainage of marshes, sanitation of malarial 
districts, etc., are not repayable. The same applies to government 
contributions toward the expense of communal or syndicate reclama- 
tion work in general. A certain sum is voted annually by the parlia- 
ment, in the budget of the minister of agriculture, to cover the ex- 
penses of the bureau de I'hydraulique agricole in making plans 
or studies for reclamation work, for the payment of the guaranteed 
interest on works already constructed, and for the construction of 
additional works previously approved by the bureau. When an irri- 
gation canal exceeds 20 kilometers (12.42 miles) in length, a special 
act is required for the subsidy recommended. 

When the Government constructs irrigation works at its own 
expense it endeavors to sell them outright as soon as a reasonable 
price can be obtained for them. This, as will be seen later, is of rare 
occurrence, the Government being generally a heavy loser by the 
transaction; consequently at the present day the Government is un- 
willing to construct any irrigation works at its own risk, preferring 
to accord substantial aid to the promoters of the enterprise. 

The extent of this aid varies according to the circumstances of the 
case under consideration, averaging in most instances, in respect of 
irrigation work, one-third of the total cost of construction. In the 
case of drainage or protective work the government contribution is 
usually more liberal. In both cases the Government has at times 
contributed as much as one-half or even two-thirds of the expense. 
As previously stated, a government guarantee of interest at the rate 
of 4 per cent can be made to investors. This government aid is con- 
tingent upon the rest of the expense being divided between the 
department concerned and the commune or association syndicale. 

When the commune or association syndicate desiring to construct 
reclamation work has received the approval and support of the bureau 
de I'hydraulique agricole and the plans have been passed upon by 
the minister of agriculture (who may modify them if he sees fit to 
do so) , the work is carried out by the commune or syndicate, subject 
to the supervision and control of the officials of the bureau de I'hy- 
draulique agricole, whose certificate is necessary in order to claim the 
subsidy from the Government. The act of 1856 requires the con- 
struction to be begun within two years of the granting of the 
franchise and to be completed within a specified period. 

Among the most important reclamation enterprises of the last 
thirty years are the draining of the " Marais de Fos," 2,000,000 acres 
of the Landes of Gascony, and a quarter million acres of the Sologne 
district in Loir and Loir et Cher. In consequence of these opera- 
tions the land has greatly increased in value — from $15 per acre to 
over $50 — and more than four years have been added to the average 
length of life of tlie inhabitants. In the Landes, pine forests have 
been set out in the reclaimed districts, adding notably to the wealth 
of the country. 

Since 1870 eight irrigation canals, with a flow of over 35 cusecs, 
have been completed, and twelve others are being constructed or 
increased. 



FRANCE. 13 

General!}^ speaking, these government enterprises have been finan- 
cially unsuccessful. The following instances will serve: 

Canal de la Bourne (length 49 miles, irrigating 20,000 acres), cost 
$2,316,000, was operated at a loss to the Government of $44,390 in 
1906, and in other years the deficit has been greater. 

Canal de St. Marterv, cost $1,930,000, Avas sold at auction for 
$3,860. 

Crau reclamation works, cost $2,316,000 (interest guaranteed by 
Government), were operated in 1906 at a loss of $96,000. 

The reasons for this unsatisfactory state of affairs are excessive 
expense of construction (masonry aqueducts and tunnels for con- 
ve^'ing water through mountainous regions) ; difficulty in collecting 
water rentals, many peasant proprietors refusing to fulfill their obli- 
gations; and redress, owing to the number of persons interested in 
evading the law, being hardly obtainable in the local courts; and in 
some instances, such as the Canal de la Durance, the water supplied, 
owing to the undesirable character of the solids in suspension, proved 
of no advantage as an aid to fertilization. 

AATiile the larger irrigation enterprises, therefore, have generally 
been financially unsuccessful, and it is impossible at present to induce 
investors to undertake them on their own account, many smaller 
enterprises, over a thousand in number, are being successfully oper- 
ated by associations of water users, who, being all directly interested 
and benefited, see to it that all the members of the association meet 
their obligations. 

In 1903 the direction de Thydraulique was reorganized under the 
name of the direction de I'hydraulique et des ameliorations agricoles, 
and the scope of its operations considerably enlarged. The activities 
of this bureau, besides the technical work properly connected with 
irrigation projects and such like reclamation enterprises, include 
research and experimental work of various kinds appertaining to 
the improvement of the soil, the proper culture thereof, and the 
different causes affecting the fertility of plants and districts. The 
direction consists of two separate bodies of officials — the service hy- 
draulique, or engineer corps of the service, seconded, generally speak- 
ing, from the department of bridges and highways, which has charge 
of the construction and maintenance work; and the service des ame- 
liorations agricoles, comprising the inspectors who oversee the works 
under construction, the engineers who design the plans for the con- 
templated projects, and, in addition, a body of professors of agricul- 
ture Avhose services are placed at the disposal of the bureau. The 
chief reason for this reconstruction was that, owing to the ignorance 
of the farmers and water users, much land was improperly handled, 
much water wasted, and crops which, had a proper s3^stem of rota- 
tion been employed, would have been very remunerative, returned 
little or nothing to the cultivator. The officials of the amelioration 
service, accordingly, furnish advice to landowners and water users 
with regard to the irrigation of their land, the choice and rotation 
of crops, drainage, and so forth, and furnish skilled assistance in 
connection with various agricultural industries, such as creameries, 
distilleries, etc. 

In order to aid the administration in forming a decision upon 
matter studied by the other services, a commission de I'hydraulique 
77331—09 2 



14 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

et des ameliorations agricoles has been created for the purpose of 
reporting to the minister of agriculture upon the various projects 
and proposals in connection with reclamation or land improvement. 
The commission acts practically as an advisory board to the ministry 
of agriculture. 

In addition, a decree of 1905 created in connection with the direc- 
tion de I'hydraulique a committee for the study of the various scien- 
tific questions affecting the hydraulic and amelioration services. The 
object of this committee is to instigate, coordinate, and centralize re- 
search work with reference to the many scientific questions which are 
connected with the operations of the two services, and in particular 
the following : 

(1) The physical and mechanical properties of soils; their rela- 
tions to their geological origin. 

(2) Irrigation; composition, action, and use of irrigation water. 

(3) Agricultural employment of sewage water and the residuary 
waters of factories. 

(4) Inquiry into, selection, and culture of the best botanical 
species to introduce and propagate on irrigated soil, poor and waste 
land, peaty and swampy land, " alkali " or other salty soils, in order 
to render them valuable. 

(5) Agricultural meteorology and physics. 

(6) Application of machinery and motors in agricultural develop- 
ment work ; utilization of electrical energy in agriculture and in rural 
industries. 

The personnel of this committee, which is appointed by the minis- 
ter of agriculture, consists of the director of the hydraulic and amelio- 
ration service and the chief engineers and inspectors of the two 
services, professors of the national agricultural college of chemistry 
in the national agronomic institute, of "Arts et Metiers " in the na- 
tional conservatoire of agriculture in the agronomic station, directors 
of the experimental hydraulic agricultural station, of the Pasteur 
institute at Lille, of the seed-testing station, of the machine-testing 
station, the vice-president of the central meteorological bureau, and 
other officials of high standing. They are appointed for three years, 
and may be reappointed. The minister of agriculture is, ex officio, 
the president of the committee, and there are three vice-presidents, 
named by him, who are : 'The professor in charge of the chemical 
laboratories of the national agronomic institute ; the inspector-general 
of mines, director of the geological map of France; the professor of 
" arts et metiers " at the conservatoire. 

The activities of this committee, which will certainly prove of the 
utmost value with respect to the operations of the two services, appear 
to have been chiefly directed toward such subjects as the different 
characteristics and needs of soils with regard to their economic im- 
provement, and the conditions of regions in which the geological 
formation has interfered with the water supply ; the various means of 
protecting crops from injury by hail, frost etc. ; the drainage and 
reclamation of marshy and " alkaline " lands ; and similar matters. 



GOVERNMENT KECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 15 

GERMANY. 
PRUSSIA. 



All public operations concerned with the reclamation of land, 
whether by irrigation, drainage, or the regulation of water courses, 
are under the supervision and control of the ministry of agriculture, 
domains, and forests, and are executed by the Prussian reclamation 
service (Landes Meliorations-Bureau) of the department. AVhen, 
however, the project affects a navigable river or stream, the matter 
comes within the jurisdiction of the ministry of public works, and 
the operations are conducted under the joint supervision of the two 
ministries. 

For the promotion of reclamation work in general, two funds are 
provided for in the budget of the ministry of agriculture; one of 
$119,000 for reconnaissance, preliminary work, and administration; 
the other of $166,000 for contributions toward improvements under- 
taken by water associations and communes. These funds are dis- 
tributed by the minister of agriculture at his discretion. 

These sums have for some time been quite inadequate, and the 
yearly expenditure of the Prussian ministry of agriculture upon rec- 
lamation work is many times greater. The officials of the Melio- 
rations-Bureau number 182, comprising a consulting board of 14 
members, an office force of 16, 45 traveling inspectors, and 107 sub- 
ordinate officers. The estimated expenses of the bureau for the year 
1907 were as follows : 

Administration, including traveling expenses of officials $272, 285 

Supervision and maintenance, reconnaissance and preliminary work- 453, 275 
Special contributions toward construction work by water associa- 
tions and communes 1,395,465 

Total expenditure of the ministry of agriculture in reclama- 
tion work for the year 1907 2, 121, 025 

When reclamation work is contemplated, the course of procedure 
is as follows : 

The persons directly interested lay the case before the local au- 
thorities, village or town council, and these, after investigation and 
approval, bring the project to the attention of the ministry of agri- 
culture, which in its turn appoints one of the officials of the Meliora- 
tions-Bureau to make an examination and report. If the official re- 
port is favorable, preliminary plans, with estimates of costs, are 
drawn up by the bureau and submitted to the district concerned for 
discussion by all interested. Should it be decided that the work is 
to be undertaken if possible, the next step is to agree as to the parti- 
tion of the estimated cost of the undertaking. As regards this there 
is no fixed rule, each case being considered on its merits, the standard 
partition, however, being an equalization between the State, the 
province, and the commune or association interested. Should, how- 
ever, one of the three parties be benefited more than the others, the 
contribution of that party is proportionately increased. Thus, in 
the regulation of the Kiver Ahr, a tributary of the Ehine at Cob- 
lentz, in the Bodendorf district, by which the State was the greatest 
gainer, the costs were assessed as follows : State, 50.6 per cent ; prov- 
ince, 25.4 per cent; and co^lmune 24 per cent; while in the regulation 
of the same stream in the Liers and Hoeningen districts, in which the 



16 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

landholders were the chief beneficiaries, the assessment was: State, 
39 per cent; province, 19.5 per cent; and association, 41.5 per cent. 

An association (Genossenschaft) of landholders, farmers, and 
others directly interested in the undertaking is then formed, accord- 
ing to the provisions of the water associations statute of 1879, which 
regulates the constitution, management, and operations of all such 
associations, and provides for the individual assessment of the cost 
of the undertaking, such assessment being calculated according to 
the area affected and the estimated benefit to be derived from the 
improvements, the land being classified for this purpose by inspectors 
under the control of the Meliorations-Bureau, but appointed by the 
president of the water association. The association undertakes to 
carry out the construction work under the supervision of the bureau, 
and in accordance with the plans approved by the officials thereof ; 
and in case of departure from the officially approved plans, to make 
all alterations required at its own expense. The association is fur- 
thermore required to maintain the improvements in such a manner 
as shall satisfy the inspectors of the Meliorations-Bureau, who are 
required to make regular examinations of all existing reclamation 
works. These inspections are supposed to take place yearly, but 
owing to the number of such works in operation, do not in practice 
occur much more frequently than every third year. 

The project is now ready for the consideration of the minister of 
agriculture, who, as stated above, can use his discretion as to the 
extent to which the department shall contribute; the Prussian Gov- 
ernment is, however, inclined to act liberally in such matters, espe- 
cially where associations composed of small farmers and peasants 
apply for assistance; where larger projects, involving the expendi- 
ture of considerable sums, are under consideration, application must 
be made both to the Landtag of the province and of the State for 
a special appropriation. 

The contributions, both of the State and of the province, almost 
invariably take the form of a bounty. In exceptional cases sums 
of money, either separately or in addition to the bounty, have been 
lent to associations and communes for a long term of years, either 
without interest or at a low rate, rarely over 2 per cent per annum. 

As stated above, the water association is required to maintain the 
works in good condition at its own expense ; but the supervision and 
control remain permanently in the Meliorations-Bureau. 

In the year 1906 there were in the State of Prussia 4,500 water 
associations, classified as irrigation, drainage, and dike associations, 
operating over 7,922,166 acres, as follows: 

Water Afisociations in Prussia. 

Irrigation and river improvement associations : 

Number 2,400 

Area operated acres__ 3,212,357 

Cost of improvements $32, 130, 000 

Cost per acre $10 

Drainage associations: 

Number 1,400 

Area operated acres__ 756, 139 

Cost of improvements $13,209,000 

Cost per acre ^17.47 



PRUSSIA. 17 

Dike associations : 

Number 700 

Area operated acres__ 39,953,670 

Cost of iuiprovements $41,293,000 

Cost per acre $10.44 

Total cost of improvements, $86,632,000. 

In German}^, owing to the regular and abundant rainfall, irriga- 
tion is not a matter of such economic importance as in central and 
southern France and in Itaty, and there are in consequence no systems 
of the same magnitude as those in operation in these countries. In 
fact, the reclamation problem, as it exists in Prusssia, is rather to 
relieve the arable land, by surface modification and drainage, of ex- 
cessive moisture during periods of humidity than to provide addi- 
tional water supply; the chief object of irrigation appears to be the 
flooding of meadow lands in the late autumn and winter, and also in 
early summer when necessary. 

In this regard the irrigation works now in course of construction 
at Thedinghausen, Syke, and Bruchhausen, commanding an area of 
11,525 acres, situated within a bend of the River Weser, are of in- 
terest. Various schemes for flooding this low-lying meadow land 
had been put in operation from the end of the seventeenth century, 
but after various vicissitudes the project was abandoned m 1848. 
The present plan embodies a main canal about 1G.7 miles long, the 
intake being by means of a sluice directly from the Weser, the pre- 
vious weir construction having proved impracticable, owing to the 
broken ice carried down the river in the spring. A number of dis- 
tributaries are supplied from the main canal, and those are furnished 
with checks at varying intervals, whereby the water is backed up for 
certain distances and the water delivered through laterals and sluices 
over 55 sections of meadow land, averaging 185.25 acres each. Owing, 
however, to the extreme porosity of the sandy soil to which the water 
is furnished, and the uncertainty of the supply from the river, the 
project has hitherto failed to answer the expectations formed of it. 

To the north of the city of Bremen an extensive diking, draining, 
and irrigation system, covering some 500 acres, is carried on, partly 
by the city and partly by an association formed for the purpose, the 
cost of construction and expense of maintenance being divided be- 
tween the city and the association. The w^ater is supplied from the 
River Wumme, a tributary of the Weser, and into this river the 
sewage of the city, after passing through a series of clearing and- 
settling basins, is pumped. 

The most notable example of reclamation work in north Germany 
is the extensive project known as the diking and unwatering of the 
Memel Delta, an alluvial accretion lying between the embouchures 
of the Russ and Gilge rivers, which has for centuries been subject to 
periodical flooding both from the overflow of the rivers and from 
the backing up of the waters of the Kurisches Haff, an inlet of the 
Baltic. The first attempts to reclaim any part of the delta date from 
the first quarter of the seventeenth century, when the construction 
of a dike along the banks of the Gilge was commenced, and were 
continued more or less ineffectually up to the middle of the nine- 
teenth century, when the associations representing the interests of 
the dwellers between the Russ and Gilge were placed upon a practical 



18 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

basis; and since then the work of protection and reclamation has 
gone on with little interruption, until at the end of 1901 the four 
principal dike unions of the southern district included a reclaimed 
area of 65,700 acres. The oldest and most important of these asso- 
ciations, the Linkuhnen-Seckenburger Verband, has a continuous 
existence since 1613, and includes about 55,000 acres; the association 
operates 7 unwatering stations (using both rotary pumps and water 
wheels), and maintains 24.3 miles of river dikes, 6.3 miles of sea 
wall along the shore of the Kurisches Haff, and 29.1 miles of drain- 
age canals within the area operated. 

The Memel Delta proper lies north of the Linkuhnen-Seckenburger 
district and embraces an area of nearly 100,000 acres between the 
Euss and the Gilge. Of this area about 45,000 acres are included 
within the dikes of the " Stromdeichverband des Memeldeltas," an 
organization formed in 1897, which has united in one association the 
various reclamation enterprises of the delta. The Euss dike is about 
17 miles, the Gilge dike (right bank) about 20 miles long. The 
dimensions of the dikes within the delta are as follows : 

Crown of dike, from 23 to 42 inches above highest recorded flood level. 

Width of crown proper, 12.46 feet. 

Width of crown, when used as a public highway, 18 feet. 

Slope on inside, 2 to 1 ; on outside, 3 to 1. 

Along the edge of the Kurisches Haff a sea dike, called the 
" Haffstaudeich," was built in 1895-96, thus completing the tri- 
angular inclosure of the delta. The dimensions of the dike are as 
follows : 

Average width of crown, 6 feet 6 inches. 
Width of crown near Karlsdorf, 14 feet 9 inches. 
Slope on the land side, 2 to 1 ; on the sea side, 3 to 1. 
Height of crown at Karlsdorf, 12.23 feet. 
Average height of crown, 6.56 feet. 

The Haff dike starts from the end of the Gilge dike at Karlsdorf 
and terminates about 1^ miles below the Euss dike, at the northern 
corner of the delta. For the first 4 kilometers it is constructed of a 
sandy clay, found in the neighborhood of the Gilge at Karlsdorf; 
for the rest of the distance the only available material was sand, and 
this was protected on the sea side with a facing of clay, about 20 
inches thick, the clay being applied in slabs and rammed in, the pitch- 
ing being finished as smooth as possible; the crown and inner slope 
are either sodded lengthwise with sods taken from the surrounding 
meadows, or overlaid with a thin covering of clay and sown with 
grass seed. 

It was estimated that the unwatering of the submerged and 
partially submerged land within the delta (an area, as stated above, 
of about 45,000 acres) would require the withdrawal of 0.65 liter per 
hectare per second; this for the 18,500 hectares affected, would 
amount to 12.02 cubic meters, or 424.74 cusecs. The experiences of 
the Linkuhnen-Seckenburg Association in connection with the unwa- 
tering of that district, caused the engineers in charge of the Memel 
Delta to recommend the installation of six water elevators at first, 
each with. a maximum capacity of 1.7 cu. m. per sec. (60 cusecs.), and 
to defer the installation of other machines until the lifting powers 
of these had been thoroughly tested. 



ITALY. 19 

The type of machine decided upon was the scoop or shovel wheel, 
a modern modification of the Persian wheel, a type which had been in 
use for many years in Holland. During the preceding twenty years 
several of these wheels had been set up in various parts of Germany, 
and a superiority over other elevators for a short lift of water was 
claimed for them by the constructors. The diameter of the wheels 
is 8 meters (26.24 feet), width 1.68 meters (5.51 feet) ; there are 28 
shovels. The wheel is driven by electricity and makes 2.6 revolutions 
per minute. 

SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA. 

In this duchy no irrigation works are undertaken by the Govern- 
ment, but in exceptional cases the Government will make advances 
to the persons desirous of carrying out a reclamation project of 
approved utility, at a low rate of interest — from 2J to 3 per cent. 
Only meadow land is irrigated. There are no statistics available. 

WURTTEMBERG. 

All irrigation and drainage works are constructed under the super- 
vision of the department of agriculture by associations formed for 
the purpose. If the Government finds that the project is of public 
benefit, it may contribute a proportion not exceeding one-fourth of 
the cost of construction as a gift. The total annual contribution of 
the Government does not exceed $6,000. 

The total cost of the irrigation and drainage works constructed in 
Wurttemberg during the seven years 1900 to 1906, amounted to $207,- 
250, an average of about $2,967 yearly. 

ITALY. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

Heclamation work in Italy, whether by irrigation or drainage, is 
under the supervision and control of the ministry of public works, 
operating in agreement with the ministry of agriculture. 

All reclamation projects are subject to the provisions of the recla- 
mation and drainage law of 1900. According to this statute reclama- 
tion operations are divided into two categories, as follows: 

First category: (a) All w^orks having hygienic improvement for 
their principal object; (b) all works combining agricultural and 
hygienic improvement. 

Second category: All reclamation work not included in the first 
category. 

Reclamation work of the first category is executed either (1) by 
the Government, (2) by licensees approved by the ministry of public 
works, (3) by the provinces or communes, or (4) by the landholders 
themselves, who shall form themselves into an association after the 
manner prescribed by the irrigation law of 1873 and be subject to 
the provisions of said law. 

All works when constructed shall be maintained at the expense of 
the association of landholders. 



20 GOVEKNMENT EECLAMATIOIT WOEK IN FOKEIGN COUNTRIES. 

The partition of the cost of construction of works of the first 
category is as follows: Government, three-fifths; province or prov- 
inces interested, one-tenth; commune or communes interested, one- 
tenth ; association of landholders, one-fifth of the actual cost of con- 
struction. Within this category are included such works as the drain- 
ing of the Pontine marshes, to be constructed Avithin the years 1906- 
1915, at a cost of $500,000 (of w^hich the Government contributes 
$300,000; the Province of Kome, $50,000; the communes, $50,000; 
and the landholders $100,000), and 15 other works of similar charac- 
ter at present under construction, the estimated cost of which amounts 
to $6,520,000. 

Although the Government may, if it so choose, execute the reclama- 
tion works, in practice these are carried out by contractors or by the 
licensees, who furnish adequate security for the proper execution of 
their contracts. All working plans, specifications, etc., must be ap- 
proved by the minister with the consent of the board of public 
Avorks and of the council of state. The Genio Civile, or board of engi- 
neers, must ascertain the conditions of the project and pass upon the 
plans and estimates. For this service the board of public works 
charges a fee in accordance with the provisions of the law of 1900. 

The respective contributions of the Government, the province, 
commune, and association having been determined according to the 
estimated cost of the enterprise, are divided into equal installments, 
not less than 5 nor more than 30 in number, and payable yearly, the 
first installment to be due upon the 1st day of July subsequent to 
the signing of the contract for the construction of the works. The 
number of the installments shall be fixed by the minister of public 
works, after consultation with the board of works and the council 
of state and with the agreement of the minister of the treasury. A 
final readjustment of the amounts payable shall be made upon the 
completion of the works, upon the basis of the actual cost thereof. 

To meet their annual contributions the provinces and communes 
shall deliver annual warrants against their direct revenues. To meet 
the contributions of the individual landholders a special tax shall be 
imposed upon the private lands within the area to be reclaimed, which 
shall be a lien upon the land and shall be collected by the Government 
until the debt is liquidated. 

A commission presided over by the prefect of the province and 
consisting of one representative of the province, two delegates from 
the interested communes, one representative of the provincial board 
of health, and two delegates from the association of landholders, shall 
visit the works in course of construction and shall make a yearly 
report upon their progress and condition to the ministry of public 
works. 

When presenting his budget to parliament, the minister of public 
works shall make a report upon the condition of all the reclamation 
works in the Kingdom. 

In cases of expropriation, appraisement of indemnification, damage 
of any kind, evaluation shall be made by three arbitrators, one 
of whom is appointed by the minister of public works, one by the 
owner or oAvners of the lands, and one by the president of the terri- 
torial court of appeals. The latter shall also appoint the arbitrator 
to represent the owners, should these parties fail to do so within the 
time specified. 



ITALY. 21 

Reclamation work of the second category maj^ be undertaken either 
by vohmtary syndicates or compulsory associations. Voluntary syn- 
dicates are foruied with the consent of all parties interested. They 
are connnercial enterprises and may not claim any benefaction from 
the Government, province, or comnunie, but must submit their project 
to the ministry of public works, and the board of engineers passes 
upon the same as in the case of works of the first category. All con- 
struction work must meet with the approval of the board of engineers. 

Should the enterprise be beneficial to hygiene and also be of ad- 
vantage to agriculture, a voluntary syndicate may, two years after its 
formation, demand to be changed into a compulsory association. In 
crder to effect this change the consent of the provincial and com- 
munal councils is necessary. 

The expense of construction, carried out by the compulsory asso- 
ciation thus formed, is distributed as follows : Government, one-tenth ; 
province, one-tenth; commune, one-tenth; and association, seven- 
tenths. 

^Alien the project is completed the Government, province, and com- 
mune may claim the reimbursement of their respective contributions. 
This refund shall be divided into not less than ten annual install- 
ments, without interest. 

A reclamation project is considered completed when the works con- 
templated by the approved plans have been executed and the land is 
ht for cultivation. The decision as to the completion of a project is 
made by a commission appointed by the minister of public w^orks and 
composed of an inspector of the geological survey, the chief engineer 
of the geological survey for the province in which the work is situ- 
ated, a member of the provincial board of health and an official of the 
ministry of agriculture. The project being declared completed, the 
minister of public works may, if necessary, require the landholders to 
form an association for the maintenance and administration of the 
works. 

The estimated increase in revenue from the lands reclaimed is ex- 
empt from real estate tax for a period of twenty years from the date 
of the intended completion of the work. 

The combined report of the minister of public works, the minister 
of agriculture, and the minister of the treasury for 1900 furnishes the 
following statement of the reclamation w^ork in progress and contem- 
plated between 1900 and 1924. 

I. Reclamation work of the first category, under construction: 
Xineteen projects; total cost, as estimated, $12,700,000, of which 
$10,625,000 falls upon the government, the provinces, and communes. 

II. Reclamation work under construction by syndicates: Ten 
projects; total estimated cost, $5,970,500. 

III. Reclamation work of the first category, approved by the gov- 
ernment, but not vet under construction : Seventv-one projects ; total 
estimated cost, $23,844,800, of which $19,075,940*^ are to be borne by 
the government, provinces, and communes. 

A special appropriation of $40,000 annually is made for the pur- 
pose of studj'ing the conditions of the various reclamation projects 
submitted to the ministry of public works. 



22 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
IRRIGATION IN NORTHWESTERN ITALY. 

Irrigation in northwestern Italy is almost entirely dependent upon 
the Kiver Po and its many tributaries, which cover the great plain 
of Piedmont and Lombardy with a network of streams, rendering- 
possible a most complete system of irrigation. The unbroken chain 
of mountains which bound three sides of the provinces furnish 
through the perpetual melting of the snow masses that clothe their 
upper slopes, an inexhaustible supply of fertilizing water to the 
plains beneath, and feed, in the mountain valleys, numberless rivulets 
that are used to irrigate the fields and meadows up to the edge of 
the snow line. 

Three main systems of irrigation are practised in this region: 
•Firstly, the distribution of water by means of canals and laterals to 
districts not irrigable by the small streams ; secondly, the sustentation 
of those streams whose flow is subject to wide variation by water 
from other streams that do not fluctuate similarly, by means of 
connecting conduits; thirdly, the furnishing to the soil ingredients 
productive of fertility in Avhich it happens to be lacking, such as the 
couA^eying of water turbid with clay to lands that are loose and 
friable, and contrariwise, water holding sand in suspension to soils 
that are naturally too stiff. 

During its course from its source at Monviso in the Graian Alps 
to the sea, the Po receives 15 tributaries; on the right bank, the 
Maira and Yaraita from the Maritime Alps, and on the left bank 
the Pellice, Sangone, Dora Riparia and Stura from the Cossian Alps, 
the Malone and Oreo from the Graian Alps; the Dora Baltea and 
Sesia from the Graian and Pennine Alps; and the Agogna, Ter- 
doppio and Ticino from the Lepontine Alps. The characteristics of 
all these rivers, both as regards the periods of. their fluctuations, and 
the soil they carry in suspension, have been carefully studied for 
many years, and the result is a system of interchange of water sup- 
ply of the most complex character. The tributaries are classed as 
either sand-bearing, to which class belong the Dora Riparia, the 
Dora Baltea and the Ticino; or clay-bearing, which includes the 
rest of the tributaries. The three first-named rivers are also defined 
as summer-flow rivers, having their sources in the higher Alps, 
Avhere the snoAv only begins to melt toward the end of spring, and are 
in flood from May till September; while the others, styled winter- 
flow rivers, which rise among, the foothills and at the edges of the 
great Italian plain, where the winter rains are frequent in the valleys 
and the snow melts from the hills as soon as winter is over, are in 
flood during winter and spring and fall off steadily all through the 
summer. The following table shows the comparative variations: 

Variation in stream flow. 



' 


October- 
May. 


June-Sep- 
tember. 


Summer streams: 

Dora Baltea . . 


Cusecs. 
1,400 

3,175 
1,765 


Cusecs. 

5,600 


Winter streams: 

Po at Chivasso 


2,120 


Sesia (and affluents) 


706 







t 



ITALY. 23 

Owing to these conditions, it is possible, except upon rare occa- 
sions, such as the drought of 1882, when the flow of the Po at Chi- 
vasso went down to 990 cusecs for fifteen days, to maintain a normal 
and regular delivery of water throughout the irrigating season. 

The great canals of the Piedmont-Lombardy district, between the 
Po and the Ticino, are under government control, the system being 
termed the Canal Demaniali. The principal canals are: 

Principal canals of Piedmont-Lomhardy -district. 

Flow in cusecs. 

Cavoiir Canal 3, 885 

Depretis Canal 1, 950 

Sartirana Canal 882 

d' Ivrea Canal 706 

The total discharge of the canals of the system is 10,240 cusecs. 

Of all these the Cavour Canal (so named after the famous patriot 
and statesman) is the most important. It issues from the Po a short 
distance below Chivasso and after a course of 50 miles discharges 
into the Ticino. It is constructed of stone and concrete throughout 
its whole length ; the width of the bed of the canal is 65.5 feet ; it is 
carried in aqueducts over the Dora Baltea, the Cervo, the Roasenda, 
and Marchiazza rivers and in syphons beneath the Elvo, Sesia, 
Agogna, and Terdoppio. The project was started in 1846, and after 
manv delavs construction began in 1863. The canal was declared 
open in 1867. The total cost of the canal was about $16,000,000. 

The Depretis Canal comes next in capacity to Cavour, having 
a flow of 1,950 cusecs. This canal was constructed in 1785. It is 
taken out of the Po below Yillareargio, and discharges into the 
Elvo. 

The Ivrea Canal is one of the oldest in Piedmont. It was opened 
in 1468, during the regency of Yolandc of Savoy, and abandoned 
a century later, its channel having become choked with silt. In 
this condition it passed in the seventeenth centurj^ into the posses- 
sion of the Princess of Yillafranca, who restored it, and it was regu- 
larly used both for irrigation and navigation up to the year 1820, 
when the State purchased it back from the private holders. Its course 
is 46 miles. 

The more important affluents of the Po are discussed below: 

The Dora Riparia supplies 21 canals between Villafocchiardo and 
Turin, and also furnishes motive power to the chief industries of 
the towns along its banks. The flow of the Dora Riparia (a sum- 
mer-flow stream) is subject to great fluctuations, and this is the 
cause of considerable inconvenience both to the irrigation and indus- 
trial interests. Many suggestions have been made with the object 
of regulating the flow of the stream, but none have proved prac- 
tical. The area irrigated is about 20,000 acres, and the discharge 
varies between 1.050 cusecs maximum and 525 cusecs minimum. In 
periods of drought the discharge falls as low as 350 cusecs. 

The Stura di Lanzo supplies 10 canals, 3 from the right bank and 
7 from the left. Motive power is also supplied to several towns. 

The Dora Baltea, being the strongest of the summer-flow streams, 
is called upon to make up the deficiency of the other rivers during 
the summer. It effects this by means of three canals — the Ivrea, 
capacity 1,942 cusecs; the Rotto, 1,900 cusecs; and the Farini. 2,471 
cusecs. 



• 



24 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

The Ticino supplies the Grand Canal (a navigation canal) between 
Milan and Pa via, and three irrigating canals, of which the Langosto, 
with a flow of 635 cusecs, irrigates 30,000 acres, and the Sforzesco, 
with a flow of 555 cusecs, 25,000 acres. 

Another irrigating device is the lift pump, by which water is 
driven up a vertical shaft of considerable length. The Cigliano shaft 
is 131 feet in height, and irrigates 3,750 acres; the motors of the 
pump are driven by the Depretis Canal, and the water is taken from 
the Ivrea Canal ; the flow is 45 cusecs. 

The Government supplies water for irrigation at the following 
average rates: 

(a) For the summer season, 2,500 lire ($445.90) per second-hectoliter 

(3.53 en sees). 
(h) For the winter season, ISO lire ($34.74) per second-hectoliter. Or 
(c) For the rice fields, 100 lire ($19.50) per hectare=$7.80 per acre. 
id) For meadows or marcite,« 60 lire ($11.70) per hectare=$4.68 per 

acre. 

All the irrigating systems in northwestern Italy, except those con- 
structed by private capital for use upon private property, are under 
the control of the Central Government. 

No account of the irrigation system of the basin of the Po is at 
all complete without some mention of the irrigation association of 
the West of the Sesia, which was instituted in 1854. Previous to this 
date, the water users living within the district suffered considerably 
from the conflicts of interests between rival ditch owners, the con- 
flict between Government and private canals, the uncertainty of water 
supply, and the unstable character of the charges for water. Specu- 
lation in water was rife, and formed one of the most objectionable 
features of the old system, and in this conflict the water user was 
always the loser. In order to bring conformity into the system of 
water supplv, and to remove the opportunities for extortion which 
accompanied any shortage of water. Count Cavour and the dis- 
tinguished engineer Carlo Nos formulated a proposition to unite all 
the water users between the Dora Baltea and the Sesia into a co- 
operative association. This was a proposition fraught at those times 
with many difficulties, and hindrances of all kinds were encountered ; 
but the determination of the Count and the enthusiasm and ingenuity 
of the engineer finally triumphed and the association of water users 
was finally organized in January, 1854. Since that date the zone and 
the activities of the association have steadily increased. In 1902 it 
controlled a territory of about 5G,000 hectares (nearly 140,000 acres) 
and supplied water to 40 different Consorzi, or syndicates of water 
users. The association purchases water at a contract price from the 
State and privately owned canals, and distributes it throughout the 
territory controlled at cost price, with a small addition for expenses 
of management. 

Great as are the benefits conferred upon the cultivator by this so- 
called cooperative system, the Government deems it matter for regret 
that, owing to the varying conditions in different parts of the 
district controlled, the prices of water vary very considerably, as 
also the charges for management, so much so as to be in some places 

" Marcite, a mixture of clover and rye. It yields six to ten cuttings a year. 



NETHERLANDS. 25 

four times as high as in others. The State would prefer to see the 
association reconstructed upon a '' confederated " foundation, which 
would be in effect more truly cooperative than the present one, where- 
by the whole of the water supplied to the association would be dis- 
tributed equitably oyer the whole district and the cost thereof, to- 
gether with the working expenses, assessed according to the area irri- 
gated and the character of the crop raised, instead of, as at present, 
according to the eft'ectiye consumption of water. But as the present 
constitution and contracts of the association, renewed in 1884, do 
not expire until 1914, no change can be looked for till after that date. 

Operating in a similar manner to the West of the Sesia association, 
but basing its assessment charges upon the area irrigated and class 
of crop, is the Consorzio, or League of Cayo Montebello, which com- 
mands about 13,000 acres and includes nine communes Avithin its 
periphery. In apportioning the water charges in this association, 
the following proportions are observed. Per irrigation; field crops: 
meadoAvs : rice -fields : : 1 : 3 : 7. 

Before the season opens, the acreage to be allotted to each class of 
crop is definitely fixed, in order that the association may make its 
requisition for water of the Government, which furnishes the needed 
supply to the Consorzio at a discount of 20 per cent. 

THE NETHERLANDS. 
GENERAL STATE^IENT. 

In no country does the reclamation of the land occupy so important 
a place in the national economics as in the Netherlands. From the 
earliest times the dw-ellers in the " hollow land " — more than one-half 
of Holland is below, mean sea level — have been compelled in self- 
defense to raise barriers of some sort or other against the perpetual 
menace of the ocean, and for the last 600 years the protection of the 
seaboard has been one of the chief cares of the rulers of the State, 
while construction of the barriers themselves has gradually advanced 
from the rude appliances of mediaeval times to the latest develop- 
ment of the science of modern engineering. The prosperity of the 
country depends more directly than on anything else upon the suc- 
cessful defense of the coast against the onset of the sea, and nearly 
one-fifth of the revenues of the Kingdom is appropriated to that end 
every year in the budget of the department of the waterstaat, to whose 
care is intrusted the supervision and maintenance of the whole system 
of dikes, waterways, and drainage of the countr}^ This remark- 
able system, whereby the ingenuit}^ and perseverance of the Dutch 
race have succeeded in transforming the lo\vlands of the country from 
malarial morasses into one of the most fertile and valuable agricul- 
tural districts in Europe,® merits a detailed description. 

Along the greater part of the coast the sea itself, under the influence 
of wind and tide, has thrown up a natural barrier of sand above high- 
water mark. On these ridges grass has grown and gradual accretions 

" The prices of cultivable land in Holland are surprising. The " bulb land " south of 
Haarlem rents at $60 to $80 an acre, and sells for $1,600. to $1,800 per acre; the market 
value of ordinarv agricultural land in Friesland is from $200 to $220 per acre ; the raw 
land reclaimed from the Y polders, when the North Sea Canal was constructed, sold at 
auction as high as $540 per acre. 



26 GOVEKNMENT KECLAMATION WORK IK FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

of soil and sand have raised the duiies higher and higher until lines 
of sandy hummocks, sparsely covered with herbage and stunted 
shrubby growth, rising from 30 to 50 feet above the level of the 
ocean, and from a few hundred feet to more than a mile in width, 
extend along the greater portion of the western coast, and effectually 
protect it against the encroachments of the sea. But along the 
northern coast and the shore line of the provinces bordering the 
Zuider Zee, and of the islands and Zeeland in south Holland, and 
generally throughout the deltaic district, this natural protection is 
frequentl}^ absent and the sea is kept out by means of dikes. These 
are generally built up of material in situ, sand, gravel, or earth ; the 
surface is planted thickly with willow withes ; these are closely inter- 
woven, and by filling the interstices with clay the whole is compacted 
into a consistent surface, turf being also frequently used for the 
same purpose. The seaward slope of the dikes, or at any rate all 
of the surface thereof that comes in contact with the sea, is faced with 
blocks of basalt or Norwegian granite set on edge and fitted closely 
together so as to present as smooth a surface as possible to the water. 
This banquette, whose slope is very gradual, frequently extends sev- 
eral hundred feet seaward and to a considerable depth. 

In races and other points exposed to violent wave action various 
means are adopted to prevent erosion. Quadruple rows of piles are 
driven seaward in order to break the force of the current ; break- 
waters formed of large blocks of basalt or concrete are carried out 
from the head of the banquette; rows of piles are driven parallel 
with the toe of the dike, and in some places called " zinkstukken," 
or sinking places, the weak foundation is strengthened by a mattress 
work, the willow crates of which are packed with rubble. In spite, 
however, of every means employed, scouring along the toe of these 
dikes continues and their maintenance, calls for continual watching 
and repair. 

The largest sea dikes in the country are those at Helder and Petten 
in north Holland and at Capelle, on the west coast of the island of 
Walcheren. The Helder dike is 5 miles long, 12 feet wide at the 
crown, and protected by a wide banquette which descends into the 
sea for a distance of 200 feet. The dike is further strengthened by 
huge concrete bulwarks or breakwaters extending several hundred 
feet, into the ocean. This dike is constructed entirely of Norwegian 
granite, except in some places where concrete blocks, owing to their 
greater power of resisting wave action, have been substituted. 

The Capelle dike is 12,486 feet long, 23 feet high, and 39 feet wide 
at the crown. The seaward slope is 300 feet wide. The toe of the 
dike is protected by parallel lines of piles and blocks of basalt. 

There are in the province of Zeeland certain districts whose dikes 
from various causes require special attention and which if breached 
or allowed to become in anyway defective, would be a menace to a 
large extent of country. The polders of these dikes are called " kala- 
miteuze polders," and as the burden of maintaining these " calam- 
itous " dikes is too great to be entirely borne by the district they 
directly conserve, their control is placed in the hands of the State and 
special appropriations are made for their maintenance. It is in 
this province that the so-called dike rotting and slipping of the 
banks sometimes takes place. In former times serious breaches in 



NETHERLANDS. 27 

such dikes, and consequent damage to the surrounding country, were 
not infrequent ; but of late years owing to increased precautions and 
improved methods of repair it is only in very exceptional circum- 
stances, such as those which attended the great storm and flood of 
March 12, 1906, that a break occurs, and even on this occasion, when 
an extraordinarily high spring tide and a terrific gale combined to 
hurl the full force of the North Sea against the already weakened 
barrier, not more than one fortieth of the total area of the province 
of Zeeland was inundated, while the damage to other provinces was 
but trifling. Upon the maintenance of the dikes the department of 
public works (waterstaat) expends about two and a half millions 
of dollars annually. 

The protection of the coast line once effected, the next step in the 
reclamation of the country was the embanking of the rivers, them- 
selves for long a serious menace to the surrounding districts at sea- 
sons of high tide or in stormy weather when their waters, driven 
back upon themselves, would overflow their banks and turn the 
country for miles around into an arm of the sea. At the present 
day all the rivers in Holland are " normalized," and flow between 
corrected banks. The most important " correction " of the course 
of a stream was the turning of the mouth of the Maas or Meuse, 
from Woudrichem to Geertruidenburg, during the years 1884-1904, 
whereby the draining of a large portion of the province of North 
Brabant was greatly facilitated. In addition to the normalization 
of the great rivers, all smaller navigable streams are canalized, and 
thus connected with the great inland waterway system of the country. 

The whole of the lowland of Holland is intersected by canals, 
which serve to carr}^ off the " inner waters " and as highways of 
traffic. The length of the canals was nearly 2,000 miles in 1907, 
exceeding that of the rivers of the country, and to this figure must 
be added 1,000 miles of navigable streams. The regular width of 
the canals is 60 feet and depth 6 feet. The current and discharge 
are regulated by means of locks and sluices. 

The problem of land reclamation in the Netherlands has always 
been of twofold character. The " outer waters " have to be repelled 
from the land, and the " inner waters " expelled to the ocean. And 
this work of repelling the " outer " and expelling the " inner " waters 
goes on continuall3^ For, owing partly to the porous -character of 
the soil, partly also to the lack of natural drainage in the low-lying 
districts, and the consequent difficulty of removing the superfluous 
rainfall, the unwatering of the country has been a matter calling for 
the utmost skill, ingenuity, and perseverance. The canals themselves, 
originally constructed with a view to the draining of the district, 
have upon occasion proved highly dangerous when unable to dis- 
charge their waters, and from the beginning of the fifteenth century 
(in the year 1408 we have the first mention of a windmill erected 
for the purpose of pumping out water) artificial means of one kind 
or another have been employed to raise the continually accumulating 
water from the loAv-lying lands and discharge it into the ocean. 
Windmills of one kind or another continue to be the power most 
used in pumping out water in small quantities, as many as 3,100 being 
now in use. The first steam pump Avas set up near Rotterdam in 
1787, and their use has steadily increased. The last issue of the 
water-chart gives the number of steam-power water mills as 260, 



28 GOVEENMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOEEIGN COUNTRIES. 

representing 11,000 horsepower. It will be fair to assume that since 
the publication of that chart about 20 more steam mills have been 
installed, so that their number at present would be about 280, with a 
total of 13,000 horsepower. A particular sort of electrical water 
mill is in use at Raamsdonk and Dussen in North Brabant, and the 
power for the pumps at Neukirch, which unwater the low-lying 
polders along the corrected embouchure of the Meuse, is supplied 
by two electric-power stations. 

The system by which the reclamation of land is accomplished 
and maintained, and which, as has been shown, is a combination of 
dikes, canals, drains, and pumping mechanism, is termed " impolder- 
ing." So universal is this system throughout the low-lying portions 
of the country that the west of Holland has been called one gigantic 
"polder." 

The manner in which a " polder," which may be of any size from 
a few acres up to 300 or 400 square miles in extent, is formed, is as 
follows : 

The portion of land selected for " impoldering " is first surrounded 
completely by a dike, which shuts out the "outer Avater;" and by 
taking all the earth for the dike from the inside of the polder, a 
trench varying in size according to the dimensions of the dike is 
formed, which serves both as a drainage ditch and as a reservoir 
out of w^hich the " inner water " is raised into the main canal, and 
thus carried to the ocean. Whatever the size of the polder, the prin- 
ciple is the same; except that when the level of the polder is too 
far below that of the main canal to admit of the Avater being raised 
thereto in one operation, a series of dikes is built, each with its 
encircling canal, and the water being raised from one to the other 
finally reaches the main channel of discharge. 

It must be j-emembered that, owing to the high infiltration of the 
sandy soil, and the previously enumerated causes, this process of 
unwatering must be systematically continued, if the polder is to be 
kept in a cultivable condition. In some districts the infiltration is 
so great that even wath regular pumping the polder becomes water- 
logged, and often becomes a source of danger to the surrounding dis- 
trict. A notable case of this kind occurred quite lately when the 
Maas embouchure was deflected to Geertruidenburg, the pressure of 
the water in the new channel caused such excessive infiltration in the 
adjoining polders, that two electric-power stations had to be estab- 
lished in order to drive the centrifugal pumps set up for the purpose 
of draining the threatened polders. 

In order that the management and maintenance of the polders 
may not be left to individual responsibility or haphazard action, 
each polder is placed in control of a Waterschap, or board, which 
is responsible to the governor of the province for the condition of the 
polder in its charge, and has also certain plenary powers of ad- 
ministration and jurisdiction assigned to it. These Waterschappen 
are subordinated to a superior council (Hooghemraadschap), which 
has charge of the main waterways and an interprovincial jurisdic- 
tion, thus acting as a check upon the local Waterschappen and 
preventing them from overburdening the main channels and water- 
ways. 

But the inhabitants of Holland have not been satisfied with merely 
defending their country against the threatened encroachment of the 



NETHERLANDS. 29 

ocean; they have set out to capture territory from the sea itself, 
and so successful have been their campaigns that during the last 
seventj^-five years the area of the Netherlands has increased nearly 
50 per cent; that is, from 8,768 square miles in 1833 to 12,G48 square 
miles in 1906. And these accretions are still going on, particularly 
along the coast of Zeeland, Friesland, and Croningen, where the shore 
is very flat and the " slikken " or mounds of sea clay gather sea 
grasses which in process of gro^Yth elevate them slightly above the 
sea level, when they are termed " kwelders " or grass banks. AVhen 
this stage is reached, the watchful inhabitants (avIio, for that matter, 
frequently assist the process of " kwelderizing " by covering the 
" slikken " with wattles of straw) throw out a dike, impound the 
" kwelder," drain the marsh, and turn the once slimy seashore into 
a revenue-producing polder. Thirty-eight square miles of territory 
have been thus added to the northern provinces since 1877, and the 
contemplated inclosing and draining of the Zuider Zee, the greatest 
enterjorise of its kind ever contemplated, will, if successfully carried 
out, add nearly 1,500 square miles to the area of the Netherlands. 

The best example of impoldering on a large scale, being also the 
largest undertaking of the sort in the country, is the unwatering of 
the Haarlemer Meer, or Lake of Harlem. This body of water, which 
had been increasing in size for centuries — in 1531 it covered about 
6,000 acres, and three adjoining lagoons spread over a yet larger 
area — was by the year 1830 nearly 40,000 acres in extent. The high 
tides of 1836 caused a disastrous flood which covered almost the entire 
country between Amsterdam and Leyden, and the continued existence 
of this inland sea Avas a menace to the State which could no longer be 
disregarded. As early as the seventeenth century a hydraulic engi- 
neer named Leeghwater had put forward a plan for draining the 
lake (then only 17,000 acres in extent) by means of 160 windmills, 
and the commission which was intrusted with the work after the 
flood of 1836 adopted a plan which did not essentially differ from 
Leeghwater's, substituting, however, steam power for wind. When 
the unAvatering operations began in 1848 the area of the lake was 
over 45,000 acres, with a water content of about 800,000,000 tons, 
which was continually receiving accretion through infiltration. 

The work of impoldering followed the usual course, the magnitude 
of the task alone differentiating it from others of a similar character. 
A canal 40 miles in length was built round the lake, and the exca- 
vated earth went to form the inclosing dike. The outlets to the 
ocean were closed by earthen dams, and the work of pumping out 
the w^ater Avas begun. Three steam engines, specially manufactured 
in England for the purpose, each capable of pumping out 1,000,000 
tons of water in twenty-five hours, Avere set in place at different points 
of the canal, and on MaA^ 12, 1848, the pumping began. 

The contents of the lake were estimated at 800,000,000 tons (23,673,- 
611,111 cubic feet, taking the ton at 55,455 cubic inches), and the 
engines, with their capacity of 350 cusecs, Avould haA^e drained it in 
little more than two years, barring accidents, were it not for the 
continual infiltration from the ocean. It was not until July 1, 1852, 
hoAveA'er, that the lake Avas officially declared to be unw^^tered. But 
the engines are still at Avork, for the seepage is a continual menace 
and, moreover, the polder is loAver in the center than at the sides, and 
77331—09 3 



30 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

requires to be pumped out after every rain. The amount of water 
annually pumped out averages 54,000,000 tons. 

The cost of the ring canal and dike was $778,640. The engines and 
their operation cost $973,300. The polder is traversed by two main 
canals, each 80 feet wide ; six smaller ones cross the breadth of it and 
four the length. The polder contains 130 miles of roads, and the 
canals are spanned by 70 bridges. The total outlay on the work was 
$3,893,200. 

The area of the land reclaimed by this gigantic operation was 
41,675 acres. While the work was still in progress an offer was 
received from a foreign syndicate to purchase the whole polder at 
$48.66 per acre. As the price realized for land similarly reclaimed 
had been, at the latest sale, less than $30 an acre, the offer was con- 
sidered a satisfactory one and would probably have been accepted 
had not the city of Leyden intervened with a claim of territorial 
rights over the property. The ensuing uncertainty as to title pro- 
tracted the negotiations, and finally it was decided, a year after the 
polder had been drained, to hold a public sale of about 2,000 acres. 
Before the day of the sale the city of Leyden lodged a protest against 
the proceedings and purchasers were threatened with ejectment pro- 
ceedmgs if they attempted to settle on the lands. In these circum- 
stances the Government of the Netherlands intervened and undertook 
to furnish all purchasers with a warranty of peaceful possession. 
The sale then took place and the land realized $120.84 per acre, or two 
and a half times as much as the syndicate had offered. 

This enterprise was the most successful of its kind, the land, prov- 
ing of excellent quality, having since then risen considerably in value. 
A much higher price, it is true, was obtained, as has been previously 
noted, for the land reclaimed in the construction of the North Sea 
Canal. The 12,450 acres of the Y polders, as they are called, being 
close to the city of Amsterdam, sold in part as prospective building 
land for as much as $1,654.61 per acre, but even for the agricultural 
portions more than $540 per acre was obtained. In general it may 
be said that of late polder land has fetched so high a price that agri- 
cultural industry has been a good deal hampered on account of high 
value and assessments placed upon the polder meadows. 

THE UNAVATERING OF THE ZUIDER ZEE. 

No account of land reclamation in Holland would be complete 
without reference to this immense project, which has been at once the 
dream and the despair of the Dutch hydraulic engineers for the last 
fifty years, and has become of late so intimate a part of the aspira- 
tions of the people that, by some means or other, it will assuredly be 
accomplished within the present generation. The popular agitation 
with regard to this scheme has of late years been systematically fos- 
tered by the Zuider Zee Vereeniging, or union, which was founded in 
1886 with the express purpose of forcing the Government to take 
action with regard to a measure so earnestly and generally advocated. 
In 1892 this organization submitted to the Queen Regent a detailed 
statement of the financial, social, and economic advantages to be 
gained from the draining of the Zuider Zee, and a state commission 
consisting of 29 members was consequently appointed later in the 
year to investigate and report upon the subject. 



NETHERLANDS. 



31 



The commission divided into four sections, representing the f ollow- 
ing interests concerned : (1) Technical and defensive; (2) economic, 
agricultural, and financial; (3) water^yays and fishery; (4) public 
health. 

The majority report of 21 out of the 29 members (6 members dis- 
sented, and the minister of waterstaat did not vote) was made in 
April, 1894, recommending the project. The objections of the minor- 
ity were based upon the financial vastness and uncertain outcome of 
the undertaking, but the commission finally unanimously recom- 
mended that the work be done '" by the State in the manner covered by 
the report.'' 

An authoritative work on the project by the tAvo secretaries of the 
commission was afterwards published, from which the folloAving 
outline of the scheme is derived : 

In the first place, the Zuider Zee is to be cut off from the ocean by 
a dike 18.006 miles in length, extending from the Ewyk Sluice, in 
the Province of North Holland, across the island of Wieringen to the 
Frisian coast at the Adllage of Piaam, the sea thus cut off to be trans- 
formed into an inland sweet-water lake to be called the Yssel Meer, 
consisting of 856,392 acres. From the area of this lake 4 polders, 
with a combined superficies of 523,430 acres, will be reclaimed in the 
usual manner, reducing the area of the Yssel Meer to 332,960 acres. 
The sizes and description of the 4 polders are : 

Area and cost of reclaiming the Zuider Zee. 



I. Northwest polder 
II. Southwest polder 

III. Southeast polder. 

IV. Northeast polder. 

Total 



Total sur- 
face. 



Acres. 
53, 620 

77,885 
266, 275 
125, 650 



Arable 
land. 



Acres. 

46, 207 

68, 742 

243, 382 

119,832 



Cost. 



86, 105, 400 
9, 185, 700 
24, 863, 700 
13,065,000 



523,430 1 478,163 52,219,800 



There would thus be added to the Netherlands a twelfth province, 
which it is proposed to name Wilhelmina, eleven times the size of 
the Harlem Lake, and more than one-sixteenth of the present area 
of the Kingdom, and of an estimated value of $500,000,000. 

The entire estimated cost is nearly $76,000,000 (189,000,000 guil- 
ders) and the work will occupy thirty-three 3^ears. The dike will cost 
about $16,000,000, and the estimate for the rest of the work is 
$59,697,000. 

No land can be sold during the first sixteen years of the project, 
but from the seventeenth up to the thirty-sixth year 39,500 acres can 
be put on the market annually. 

The valuation of the work at the end of the thirty-sixth year, at 
3 per cent compound interest on the cost, amounts to $148,867,112. 

The time to be occupied in the work is apportioned as follows: 
Building the sea wall, making harbors, etc., nine years; reclaiming the 
northwest polder, tenth to fourteenth 3^ear; reclaiming the south- 
east polder, fourteenth to twenty-fourth year; reclaiming the south- 
west polder, twenty-fourth to tAvent^^-eighth year; reclaiming the 
northeast polder, twenty-eighth to thirty-third year. 



32 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

The eminent engineer at the head of the department of public 
works, Minister Lely, is said to have stated that even if no reclama- 
tion or impoldering followed, the construction of the dike alone 
would justify the expenditure. Floods and devastation have marked 
the history of the Zuider Zee for centuries, one inundation alone 
having submerged 40,000 acres and destroyed many prosperous 
villages. 

The Zuider Zee has already nearly 200 miles of dike, the main- 
tenance of which is a constant tax on the public Avorks department. 
The new dike, running directly across the strait, would be less than 
20 miles long, and a great saving in maintenance would be immedi- 
ately effected. The distance from shore to shore is nearly 35 miles, 
but by carrying the dike across the island of Wieringen a consid- 
erable reduction is made in the length of the sea wall. The dike 
itself is estimated to require 250,000 piles and 70,000 tons of basalt. 
The crown of the dike will be 17 feet 8 inches above mean sea level 
at Amsterdam ; the width of the dike will be 7 feet at the crown and 
216 feet at sea level. On the land side will be an embankment 56 
feet wide for a railway and highroad. The dimensions of the locks 
at Wieringen are 325 by 33 feet for steamers and sailing ships (but 
not large enough for battle ships) and 131 by 20 for fishing ves- 
sels. The Yssel Meer to be left in the center of the inclosure will 
receive the waters of the Yssel River. 

The estimated expenditure includes, besides the harbor work at 
Wieringen and elsewhere, the construction of a canal from Ketel 
to Muiderberg, the improvement of the Zwolsche Diep, and the water 
supply of Amsterdam. Ten million guilders ($4,020,000) are set 
aside for strengthening the national defenses, and $1,809,000 as in- 
demnity for the fishing trade of the coast of the Zuider Zee. 

Out of the area reclaimed there will remain for sale, after the land 
required for public buildings, schoolhouses, churches, etc., has been 
deducted, 462,000 acres (192,500 hectares). To recoup the State for 
the outlay made in connection with the enterprise, it is estimated that 
the reclaimed land must be sold at the price of $381.90 per hectare, or 
$154 per acre. That this figure is not excessive is evident from a com- 
parison with the present value of agricultural lands in Friesland 
($215 per acre), Zeeland ($219 per acre), and North Holland ($300 
per acre). 

As to the prospect of population, the Harlem Lake polders support 
an average of 2 persons to each 5 acres. On this basis the commis- 
sion assumes that the Zuider Zee polders, cut up into agricultural 
holdings of from 96 to 120 acres, will support 200,000 inhabitants, of 
whom one-fifth will be agriculturists of from 20 to 60 years of age. 
These people are to be settled in 8 communes and 40 villages and to 
occupy 4,000 farms. The cost of administrating the new province is 
estimated at $322,406, while the revenues are caTculated to amount to 
$459,486, leaving an annual surplus of $137,080. 

In order to assist the peasant purchasers in acquiring the land, an 
amortization scheme has been drawn up, which provides for the acqui- 
sition of the land by 45 yearly payments of $8.60 (nearly) per acre, 
which includes the polder tax." 

« All these statistics are taken from the report of the secretaries of the commission of 
1892, already referred to. 



NETHERLANDS. 33 

Her Majesty the Queen, in her address to the last States-General, 
promised that as soon as possible a law would be promulgated con- 
cerning this important subject, and it is probable that this will take 
place before the end of the year. The department of public works, 
therefore, states that projects and figures hitherto put forth with 
relation to the scheme are purely problematical, and have no acknowl- 
edged bearing or indication with respect to possible official action in 
the future. 

IRRIGATION IN THE NETHERLANDS. 

Irrigation occupies but an inferior place among the factors of agri- 
cultural development in Holland. The physical conditions of the 
western part of the Kingdom, the extreme porosity of the soil in the 
low-lying districts, the general need for drainage rather than the 
application of additional moisture, and the network of waterways, 
which would seriously add to the expense of any scheme of irrigation 
upon an extended scale, combine to make it more than improbable 
that the irrigated acreage will ever reach a high figure. It is true 
that, following the example of Belgium (q. v.), several irrigation 
enterprises were entered upon with considerable zest in and about 
1850. Some of these were after awhile abandoned, but others man- 
aged to survive, and bj?- the year 1900 there were altogether 1,235 
acres under irrigation. 

This result has been achieved entirely by individual effort and 
private enterprise, for the Dutch Government does not extend any 
direct aid or assistance in connection with irrigation or drainage 
work, nor are any direct subsidies granted toward the execution of 
such work. 

In the year 1893, however, a royal commission was appointed to 
discover what lands in the Netherlands were capable of being re- 
claimed through irrigation and to ascertain whether the Government 
would advisedly participate in such projects. 

The chief outcome of the report of the commission, which appeared 
in 1896, was the grant of a small yearly subsidy ($1,600 in 1897, 
increased subsequently to $3,618) to the Dutch Heath Company, an 
association which concerns itself with the reclamation of heath or 
waste lands. 

Under the terms of the grant, the Heath Company undertakes the 
training of irrigation experts (a two years' course is provided at the 
experimental station) ; the advising and drawing up of plans for 
intending irrigationists ; the construction of works; the establishing 
of small experimental tracts, etc. 

Up to the present, 15 irrigation inspectors have been trained by 
the Heath Company. They reside in different parts of the country, 
and may be consulted by interested parties upon payment of traveling 
expenses. Persons desirous of undertaking Avorks for the improve- 
ment of land, exclusive of impoldering, are referred by the Govern- 
ment to the Heath Company, which is in statutory charge of all 
undertakings of this sort. The company will not merely construct 
irrigation works, but will also maintain and manage them indefi- 
nitely, if so desired. 



34 GOVEKNMENT KECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

The only parts of Holland where irrigation has any prospect of 
development are the eastern and southern districts, and the hilly 
regions, especially such tracts of land as the Luneberg Heath, the 
Kempen (Campines) on the Dutch side of the Meuse (see under Bel- 
gium), the Siegthal, etc. In North Brabant, also, material success 
attended the irrigation of about 25 acres near Westerhoven, and in 
South Willems vaart and the neighborhood, where the irrigation sys- 
tem of the campines taken out of the upper Meuse (Maas) is made 
use of to some extent, satisfactory results appear to have been 
attained. 

The official organ of the Heath Company (Nederlandsche Heide 
Maatschappy) for 1905 states that plans are in preparation for the 
irrigation of about 6,175 acres in the Province of Gelderland on the 
banks of the Berkel, and according to the same authority an experi- 
mental irrigation tract of 9 acres has been laid out at Lochem, and 
another similar one at Diessen in North Brabant. The company had 
then laid out about 75 acres of meadow land for flood irrigation, and 
plans for the preparation of other tracts were under way; but the 
operations of the company are of so minor a character that the de- 
partment of public works is justified in summing up the irrigation 
situation in Holland in these words (taken from one of its reports) : 
" In general, there is no irrigation in the Netherlands." 

RUSSIA. 
GENERAL STATEMENT. 

In European Russia reclamation work is carried on at government 
expense on crown lands only. Technical assistance is furnished to 
private landholders at a regular rate. In the case of peasant com- 
munities or associations or peasants, the technical charge is remitted. 

In the trans-Caspian provinces irrigation work of public benefit 
receives special aid by means of loans at a low rate of interest and 
long term of payment, provided from a government fund. All land- 
holders are entitled to make application for government assistance 
for executing irrigation operations, and all moneys repaid by the 
borrowel-s are returnable to the fund, thus making it revolving. 

The law concerning government assistance in reclamation opera- 
tions is in substance as follows: 

All expenses in connection with irrigation cand drainage works in European 
Russia are under tlie direct control of the imperial controller, who administers 
in accordance with certain regulations issued by the ministry of agriculture in 
concurrence with the imperial controller, the cost of such control being included 
in the general cost of the operations. 

For the work of preparing plans and estimates and supervising operations a 
special charge is made by the Government, said charge taking the form of a 
tax, which is confirmed by the minister of agriculture. This minister is em- 
powered to make, with the concurrence of the finance minister, certain exemp- 
tions from payment for operations executed upon private lands, said exemptions 
consisting in relieving the landholder from contributing toward the expenses for 
surveys, etc., but he must i)rovide laborers, materials, and cartage. 

The direction of all operations executed upon government land belongs to 
the ministry of agriculture, with its respective departments. 

With respect to reclamation work on lands not included in the 
domain of the Crown, the initiative must come either from the pri- 
vate holders or from the communities interested. When technical 



RUSSIA. 35 

assistance is provided by tlie Government the entire direction of the 
work is in the hands of the government engineers. If a loan or 
subsidy of any kind has been granted by the (lovernment, whether 
for general land improvement or for a specifics purpose, the depart- 
ment retains control over the expenditure. Hydroteclniical opera- 
tions belong to the department of land improvement and are man- 
aged by the chief office of agriculture and land organization. 

The most important reclamation works executed by the Govern- 
ment are the draining of the swamps in the west-central and northern 
provinces, the irrigation of the Mugansk Steppe in the Caucasus, and 
the irrigation of the Golodny Steppe in Turkestan. 

In the Code of Laws, Vol. XII, sections 236 to 320, are contained 
the regulations as to the rights of riparian owners, the substance of 
which is as follows: 

The right of a riparian owner to the use of waters which flow beyond the 
boimdaries of his property is not exclusively his own, but other riparian owners 
adjoining enjoy the same right to the use of these waters for the purpose of 
irrigating their lands. 

All waters having their source wholly within the boundaries of one property 
and which do not, either normally or at certain times of the year, flow beyond 
the limits of the property, are at the exclusive disposition of the owner of the 
said property. 

The right to the use of water is an appurtenance of the property to which 
it applies, and can not be ceded or conveyed awaj^ from such property. To 
secure a right to the use of such waters the inspector of irrigation waters issues 
a certificate to that effect. 

In cases of necessity the Government reserves the right to make any needful 
changes in a canal system for the advantage thereof and economy in the use 
of water. 

Each landholder benefited by irrigation must share in the expenses con- 
nected with the maintenance, repair, and management of the sj^stem, either 
by rendering personal labor or by payments of money in proportion to the 
amount of water applied to his land. 

Each landholder must give passage to irrigation through his property, 
whether as required by adjoining landowners or for the discharge of over- 
flow from lands under irrigation. 

Landowners entitled to the use of water enjoy a right of abutment upon the 
land of opposite riparian owners for the purpose of diverting water, by 
securing permission to that effect from the Society of Hydraulic Engineers. 

The other riparian owner, however, is entitled to a remuneration for granting 
the privilege. 

IRRIGATION IN THE SOUTH OF RUSSIA. 

Between the rivers Ural and Dniester and bordering upon the Cau- 
casus and the Caspian Sea there lies a semiarid region, covering 
approximately 270,000,000 acres and containing a population of 
20,000,000 people. 

In 1880 an imperial commission was appointed to investigate the 
physical and climatic conditions of this region with a view to ascer- 
taining the best system of irrigation applicable to the district. The 
findings of this commission, Avhich was presided over by General Jil- 
insky, were, briefly, as follows: 

The eastern portion of the region consists of a treeless steppe ; the 
soil is sandy and saline, salt marshes abound, and drifting sands are 
observed. It is devoid of all natural water sources. 

Farther north the country becomes rougher and more broken ; brush 
wood appears and in the valleys of the streams copses are found ; the 
soil, which is argillaceous, is mingled with black mold and toward 
the north salt marshes become frequent. 



36 GOVEENMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

Toward the west the character of the region changes; the steppes 
give place to a system of plateaus intersected by river valleys and 
gorges. The general character of these plateaus is an elevated table- 
land in the center whence slopes lead in all directions toward the 
valleys and gorges; and these slopes, scored by ravines and canyons, 
form the characteristic feature of the country. The predominating 
soil is black mold; but in the neighborhood of the Black Sea and 
Sea of Azov the argillaceous sandy soil and the salt marshes appear. 

Owing to the physical characteristics of the country above de- 
scribed, and in particular to its timberless condition, it receives but 
little benefit from the rainfall (which varies from 4.8 inches to 5.5 
inches annually) ; the water passes rapidly over the surface of the 
land, scouring out the hollows and deepening the gorges ; the penetra- 
tion is very slight and the subsequent evaporation extremely rapid. 

The hardly perceptible fall of the rivers — from 5J to 17 inches in 
the mile — and the fact that they flow in extremely deep channels, 
their water level being generally speaking from 150 to 200 feet below 
that of the surrounding country, rendered all plans for the conserva- 
tion and utilization of their waters for irrigation purposes according 
to the ordinary methods quite impracticable, on account of the great 
expense which such undertakings would necessarily involve. Either 
the construction of dams to raise the river water to the level of the 
plain, or the installation of appliances for lifting the water, would 
involve outlay which the cultivation of the soil, even under the most 
advantageous conditions, could never justify; and it was decided by 
the commission that no scheme of impounding river flow could be 
recommended, and that the only way of reclaiming such portions of 
the region as were susceptible of reclamation through irrigation was 
by the retention, through dams and dikes erected in the ravines of 
the slopes^ of the winter rainfall and the melted snow in spring. The 
commission accordingly recommended the following methods of pro- 
cedure, according to the needs of the several localities : 

(1) The formation of permanent tanks or ponds, whereby the in- 
habitants and stock of the so-called " alkali " districts might be sup- 
plied with wholesome drinking water. 

(2) The improvement, by means of artificial flooding, of the 
" alkali " soil. 

(3) Installation of a system of regular periodical irrigation in 
such localities as were susceptible to that treatment. 

In consequence of the recommendations of the commission, and in 
furtherance of the plans indicated in (1), a number of dams were 
constructed across ravines in the barren steppes of the peninsula of 
Tauris, and 9 large tanks were formed there, which in time not 
merely supplied drinking water to more than 70,000 head of stock, 
but also aided in great measure the extension of the agriculture of the 
district. 

In carrying out the recommendation of (2) in the report, namely, 
the reclamation of the " alkali " lands, sites were selected where there 
was a more or less gradual slope toward a ravine or draw, and- a long 
dike or dam was constructed at right angles to the general slope of 
the plot, the dimensions being calculated according to the area it was 
proposed to submerge and the varying levels of the locality. The 
dam thus formed retained the spring waters upon the surface of the 
land above it for periods varying from ten to fifteen days and was 



RUSSIA. 37 

then drawn off through sluices into the ravine below the dam. The 
penetration was ascertained to be four times as great as that caused 
by the rainfall. 

The results of this system Avere uniformly beneficial. The saline 
constituents were in part dissolved or carried off in suspension, and 
in part penetrated so deeply into the soil that the " alkaline " character 
of the top spit was greatly diminished, so that after successive flood- 
ings the former alkali flats became covered with grass and in some 
l^laces furnished abundant crops of hay. 

"Where the jDhysical conditions permitted, an extension of this sys- 
tem of flooding, called " irrigation by tiers," was put in practice. By 
this system, the land it is designed to reclaim is divided into tiers 
by concentric dikes, and the water from the upper tier is discharged 
onto the land bounded by the lower dike, and so on, being finally 
returned to the channel of the stream. The expenses of construction, 
in the case of the ordinary submersion system, varied between $3 and 
$7 per acre; according to the tier system, between $3.50 and $9 per 
acre. 

Six of these irrigation systems were constructed in this region. The 
most typical of these is the Solenoi Kooba Project, situated in the 
domain of Yaloui, government of Samara, a brief description of 
which will be found of interest. 

The river Solenoi (solenoid salty) Kooba, an affluent of the Volga, 
traverses, in the settlement of Valoui, an almost entirely level steppe. 
In the spring this river receives the snow water from a catchment 
area of about 450 square miles, and is, during that season, a consider- 
able stream ; later in the j^ear it dwindles and finally becomes a suc- 
cession of pools divided by sand bars. The inclination of the river 
channel is about 18 inches in the mile. The soil of the flat is argil- 
laceous in character, with slight admixture of humus, alternating 
with salt marshes and plots impregnated with sulphate of magnesia — 
a typical " alkali " waste. 

After the geological formation had been ascertained by boring, 
there was constructed across the bed of the Solenoi Kooba an earthen 
dam, 380 feet long, and 21 feet wide at crest, 30 feet above the bed 
of the stream. The whole of the outer slope and the upper part of 
the interior slope of the dam was lined with turf; on the left bank 
the tail of the dam was returned along the river channel for a dis- 
tance of 5,300 feet, and then extended in a southeasterly direction for 
a distance of 12,500 feet across the plain. This dike, varying in 
height from 3 to 9 feet, and with its crest 2 feet above the flood level of 
the reservoir, forms the first tier for submersion, and is provided 
with sluice gates 400 feet in width. The area submerged by this dike 
is 1,900 acres. 

On the same side of the river, at a mean level 3.5 feet lower than 
the first dike, was constructed a second dike of the same type as the 
first, but 23,000 feet in length, and provided with two sets of sluices. 
A third dike, with a still greater length, was constructed below this 
on the same side, and furnished with sluices for returning the water 
to the river channel; and on the right bank of the river two other 
tiers were constructed. The total length of these irrigation dikes 
amounted to 95,000 feet, and the area commanded by the five, tiers 
was 99,225 acres. 



38 GOVEKNMEKT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

The spring flood waters flowing into the channel of the Solenoi 
Kooba are stopped by the dam, and overflowing the banks spread 
over the land above the first row of dikes. The sluices then dis- 
charge the water into the second tier, and in like manner to the 
third, whence the superfluity is returned to the river bed. 

When this has taken place there yet remains above the dam and 
below the level of the banks of the river a body of water ITJ miles 
long and containing 162,000,000 cubic feet, and this water is used for 
later irrigation of a periodic character within the lower tiers. After 
the spring floods had subsided the land selected for regular irriga- 
tion was cultivated in the usual manner with very satisfactory re- 
sults; from 12 to 18 inches of water were supplied, and a good yield 
of wheat and alfalfa was obtained from the formerly barren " alkali " 
soil. 

It has been estimated that from 10 to 12 per cent of the land in 
South Russia can be reclaimed and rendered profitable in this man- 
ner, and at no very great expense; the cost of a complete system of 
irrigation, with dam, main canal, and distributaries varying from 
$10 to $30 per acre, while the cultivation of the reclaimed land, not- 
withstanding the inexperience of the cultivators, produced an average 
profit of $7 per acre. 

SPAIN. 

Reclamation work in Spain may be divided into four classes, as 
follows : 

I. Works constructed and operated entirely by the Government. 

II. Works constructed entirely by private individuals without 
government assistance. 

III. Works constructed by private individuals, syndicates, or mu- 
nicipalities, with government aid. 

IV. Works constructed by the Government, private individuals, 
syndicates, or municipalities being contributory thereto. 

In class I the only example existing at the present day is the Canal 
de Aragon y Cataluna, in course of construction. 

In class II the only case up to the present is the Canal de Lodosa, 
projected by the Comision Gestionadora (committee of management) 
de Lodosa. 

Class III. When government aid is desired for a reclamation 
project, a petition in support of the project must be presented to the 
governor of the province in which the proposed reclamation work, 
or the bulk thereof, is to be carried out. This petition must furnish 
proof of the ownership of the land, of the character thereof (if the 
purpose is to drain it, of its insalubrity), of the use to which the 
water is to be applied (if for commercial purposes, a tariff of pro- 
posed water rents is required), and a full descrij)tion of the origin 
of the water supply. Complete plans of all proposed construction 
work, of all the area included in or affected by the proposed project, 
estimate of cost as to the part, if any, included in the public domain, 
general estimate of cost to the shareholders or associates. The 
petition must be signed b}^ a majority of the landholders interested, 
the amount of land held by each being appended to his signature. 

With regard to State assistance in reclamation work, the following 
regulations apply (decree of March 15, 1906) : 



SPAIN. 89 

The State may grant a concession for the emplo3''ment of public 
water for purposes of irrigation, provided the amount solicited 
does not exceed 200 liters per second (about 12.8 cusecs). 

If the owners of the irrigable land — a farming syndicate or a 
municipality which agrees to furnish Avater Avithout charge to irriga- 
tors — desire a concession for more than 200 liters per second, the 
State may aid in the construction of the requisite reservoirs and 
canals, and this aid will consist in a payment (based upon the esti- 
mated cost of the project) for each second-liter of water draAvn off, 
of one-half of the entire cost per liter, but not more than 350 pesetas 
($67.55) in all. In the case of a commercial enterprise, the State 
contribution is limited to 40 per cent of the total cost per liter, and 
may not exceed 200 pesetas ($38.60). The concession will be granted 
by the ministry of public works, upon receiving the report of the 
government engineers in charge of agricultural improvements, and 
Avill be paid upon presentation of the certificate of the chief of the 
public works of the province in which the lands to be irrigated are 
situated, and this certificate must show the number of liters used, 
the number of hectares (2.47 acres) irrigated, and that the licensees 
have complied w^itli the conditions of the concession. These certifi- 
cates shall be rendered annually for a period not exceeding six years 
from the completion of the works, and after this period is completed 
all claim to government assistance shall lapse. 

The amount estimated to be sufficient for these subsidies shall 
be included in the general budget, and if this sum proves insufficient 
to meet all claims the persons whose subventions are unpaid shall 
have no right of redress against the Government, nor shall interest 
be paid on account of the delay ; but in the succeeding year preference 
shall be given to those enterprises that received no subsidy in the 
previous year. 

Class TV. Under this head come the Trabajos Hidraulicos, or hy- 
draulic works, which are by far the most important of the operations 
in connection with land reclamation in Spain at the present day. 
The system according to which these are constructed and operated 
is in general as folloAvs : 

An association of persons interested (sindicato de riegos) is formed 
and enters into a contract with the Government on the following 
terms : 

The Government undertakes to construct and install a complete 
irrigation system consisting of reservoir, canals^ buildings, and all 
appurtenances for the syndicate. The construction shall be vnider the 
supervision and control of a committee of five, three of w^hom shall be 
elected by the association, one appointed by the minister of agricul- 
ture on the nomination of the chief engineer of the division, and the 
fifth shall be the engineer in charge of the works, appointed directly 
by the minister of agriculture. 

The contribution made by the association, toward the cost of the 
irrigation system varies according to the circumstances of the case, 
but usually consists in the payment of one-half of the cost of the 
works, this contribution being made partly during the construction 
of the system and partly by a series of annual payments, not exceed- 
ing 25, after the plant is in operation, interest at the rate of 1^ per 
cent per annum being charged on these latter payments. As soon as 



40 GOVEKNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

these payments are completed, the irrigation system becomes the 
exclusive property of the association. 

As soon as the construction work is completed the association is 
charged with the operation and maintenance of the irrigation sys- 
tem, subject to the conditions of the contract with the Government. 

Each of these important undertakings must be authorized by a 
special decree, which sets forth the terms of the contract, the amount 
of the public contribution, the terms of payment, etc. 

During the last four years (1903 to 1906) eight important recla- 
mation works, at an estimated ex^Dense of over $2,000,000 (11,000,000 
pesetas) , have been undertaken. Particulars as to the area irrigated, 
duty of water, and probable cost of construction per acre are not 
yet available. The most important of these hydraulic works are: 
The canal of Santa Maria de Belsue (1,800,000 pesetas), the Azuebar 
Keservoir (2,587,000 pesetas), the Cueva Foradada Reservoir (1,780,- 
000 pesetas), the Canal de la Pena (1,550,000 pesetas). 

Following is a translation of the royal decree authorizing the con- 
struction of the La Pena project: 

I. The minister of agriculture, industry, commerce, and public works is au- 
thorized to carry out within the term of five years the irrigation worlis of the 
reservoir of La Pena for the sums of 762,030,75 pesetas for construction and 
792,511.98 pesetas for administration, according to his estimate, the same includ- 
ing 2 per cent additional for unforseen expenses and another 2 per cent for acci- 
dents. 

II. He is hereby similarly authorized to carry out within the same term the 
antecedent projects for the deviation of the public highway from Saragossa to 
France by way of Canfranc, and of the railway from Huesca to France by 
way of Canfranc, which are included in the reservoir project. 

III. Without prejudice to the foregoing there shall be acquired, either by 
auction or by tender, the principal material to be used in the construction of 
the reservoir, such as lime, cement, metal vt^ork of all kinds, and, except in the 
case of just exceptions, stone and sand; on the other hand the system of 
public bidding for the contract for the superstructure of the alteration of the 
railroad may be departed from. 

IV. The preceding authorization is understood to depend upon the acceptance 
of the conditions of the present decree by the executive committee of the La 
Pena Reservoir. 

V. In conformity with the required formalities a syndicate of irrigation of 
the La Pena Reservoir shall be constituted, in which the communities con- 
tributing to the construction of the reservoir shall be represented, and which 
shall be governed by a regulation or ordinance such as is provided in tlie tenth 
section of this decree, the syndicate being permitted to add to its number upon 
the inclusion of fresh territory, if it be deemed convenient. 

VI. The syndicate of the reservoir shall make the following contributions to 
the works : 

(a) A cash contribution of 700,000 pesetas ($135,000), payable at certain 
periods in proportion to the work executed. 

(h) The surrender of the original project at the expense of the syndicate. 

(c) The contribution during the period of construction of a continuous cur- 
rent of 120 horsepower, furnished by the Teledynamic Company of Gallego. 

(d) An annual payment, which shall commence to be made five years after 
the completion of the reservoir, and may be progressive, whereby shall be ef- 
fected within the maximum term of twenty-five years the amortization of the 
difference between the 50 per cent of the estimated cost of the works (or of 
their real cost, should that prove less than the estimate) and the sum of the 
values of the contributions (a), (h), and (c) ; the value of the last two to be 
determined by agreement between the delegate of the executive committee and 
the chief engineer of the divisicm of public works of the Ebro ; the council of 
public works to act as a third party in case of nonagreement. 

VII. Pending the complete amortization aforesaid, the syndicate shall pay 
interest at the rate of 11 i)er cent per annum upon the sum remaining unpaid. 

VIII. When the 50 per cent has been completely amortized in the prescribed 
manner, the reservoir shall become the exclusive property of the syndicate. 



SWITZERLAND. 41 

IX. For the construction of tbe reservoir and of the works connected there- 
with or complementary thereto, there shall be formed a construction connuittee 
composed of five members, three of whom shall be elected at a general election 
by the syndicate; one shall be nominated by the minister of agriculture, indus- 
try, commerce, and public works on the recommendation of the chief engineer 
of the division of hydraulic works of the Ebro, the fifth being the civil engi- 
neer of highways, canals, and harbors directing tlie construction (director of 
the \A^rks), whom the minister shall appoint without the intervention of the 
committee. 

X. When the construction is completed, the operation and maintenance of 
the works shall be vested in the syndicate by means of the administrative regu- 
lations cited in Article V, the same having to be approved by the minister of 
agriculture, industry, commerce, and public works. 

In drawing up the regulations, the following rules must be adhered to : 

(a) The syndicate shall be obliged to deliver from the reservoir a quantity 
of water equal to the quantity entering it, except when this latter shall be in 
excess of the amount to which the inferior water-right owners are entitled, in- 
cluding the amount of the concession granted to the Sociedad Teledinamica 
del Gallego. 

(&) The ownership of the reservoir carries with it the exclusive right to all 
the water which, at any point in the canal, is in excess of the volume of water 
which would run there independently of the reservoir. 

(e) The tariffs which shall be decided upon must not exceed those proposed 
by the executive committee, equal to those in force on the Imperial Canal. 

id) For any new distributaries that may be established the basic principle, 
according to which the water shall remain inalienable from the land, shall be 
departed from, and tariffs shall be drawn up fixing the amount payable per 
hectarea (2.47 acres), irrigated, and the minimum of water which must be 
supplied in order to make payment in full obligatory upon the irrigators. 

(c) A preferential right to the water in the reservoir shall be established in 
favor of those corporations or individuals that have contributed toward the 
realization of the project. 

XI. The oi^eration and management of the reservoir works shall be subject 
to the inspection of the Government, represented by the chief engineer of the 
Ebro division of the hydraulic works. 

XII. If the works shall be abandoned by the syndicate and their efficiency 
and maintenance thereby endangered, so that they can not perform the service 
for which they were intended, the Government shall take possession of the 
same and may either operate them in person or transfer the operation to a 
third party, after proceedings, in which the council of public works shall 
be heard, have been taken. 

XIII. The committee of construction of the reservoir shall without loss of time 
make full detail plans for the deviations of the highway and of the railway, 
and forward them, along with the respective estimates, to the Ebro division of 
hydraulic works, so that the latter, after receiving the reports from the offices 
of the Huesca division of public works and the second division of railways 
(which in its turn must give a hearing to the grantee company operating the 
railroad), may submit the whole proceedings, together with its report, to 
the general division of public works for final decision. 

SWITZERLAND. 

Irrigation is but little practised in Switzerland, the natural water 
supply being in general sufficient. There are no important irriga- 
tion systems. In some of the upper valleys the water from the gla- 
ciers is used for flooding the meadows during the summer drought, 
and in the Canton of Valais these glacier-fed streams are conveyed 
to the valley of the Rhone in canals (locally called " bisses "), which 
are constructed either by mimicipalities or associations of landhold- 
ers. The Federal Government makes appropriations toward the 
cost of construction — usually about 40 per cent — and the control 
and maintenance of the "bisses" are vested in the association or 
municipality interested. These pay a nominal sum to meet the 



42 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WOEK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

expenses of upkeep, etc., for the water supplied to them, while out- 
siders are charged according to the amount of water they use. 

With regard to land reclamation in general, the Federal Govern- 
ment assists all enterprises of this character very liberally on the fol- 
lowing terms (law of 1893) : 

Applications for federal subvention in aid of land reclamation 
must be laid before the federal council by the government of the 
Canton interested, and must be accompanied by full information 
as to the character of the soil, the cost and importance of the project, 
and all requisite technical particulars relating thereto. 

The association of water users, the municipality, or Canton inter- 
ested must, severally or together, furnish at least as large a propor- 
tion of the estimated expense as the Federal Government, whose 
share shall not, in general, exceed 40 per cent of the total cost, but in 
special cases a federal grant not exceeding 50 per cent of the total 
expenditure may be made in aid of satisfactorily constructed works 
of approved utility, which have been unsubsidized, or only partially 
subsidized, by the cantonal government. 

The federal subsidy is as a rule payable after completion of the 
works and inspection thereof by the federal engineers, and the can- 
tonal government is charged with the maintenance of the same, being 
at liberty to divide such expenses between the municipalities, asso- 
ciations, or individuals interested. 

The Federal Government may also undertake to pay a share — usu- 
ally one-half — of the expenses of preliminary examinations, surveys, 
estimates, etc., and for the employment of skilled engineers for the 
superintendence of construction work, w^hen the project is one of pub- 
lic utility and unusual importance. 

The only important land reclamation project in Switzerland at the 
present day is the draining of the marshes of the Orbe, a river empty- 
ing, along with several other streams of less importance, into a de- 
pression about 10 miles long and 4 miles wide, lying in the northern 
part of the Canton of Vaud, at the foot of the Jura Kange, southwest 
of the Lake of Neuchatel, with which it Avas undoubtedly united 
during the glacial era. For more than a hundred years various 
attempts have been made to drain this, the only insalubrious district 
in the Republic, but no serious undertaking was instituted until the 
year 1854, when a company of contractors for " the draining of the 
marshes of the Orbe " was formed under the authority of the Canton 
of Vaud. The plan adopted by this company consisted in the con- 
struction of two sets of canals, one to drain the marshes themselves, 
the other to confine the river Orbe within a corrected channel. After 
eight years of more or less intermittent work the enterprise was 
abandoned for fourteen years, when the formation of the " disciplin- 
ary colony of Orbe," a sort of cantonal reform farm for inveterate 
drunkards and bad characters, furnished the canton with the neces- 
sary workmen. The solution of the real difficulty — the removal of 
the standing water — hoAvever, was not discovered until the plan for 
building a canal from the Lake of Bienne to the River Aar, thereby 
lowering the level of the lakes of Neuchatel, Bienne, and Morat and 
providing an outlet for the hitherto stagnant waters of the Orbe, 
was adopted. The construction in connection with this last project 
was begun in 1896 and is expected to be completed in 1915 ; the total 
estimated cost of the work, including interest on the deferred pay- 



ALGERIA. 43 

ments, is $475,720 (the expense of the construction previous to 1896 
was $300,672). Of this amount the Federal Government pays a pro- 
portion varying in different districts from SSO, to 40 per cent, accord- 
ing to the classification adopted ; the remainder is divided between the 
communes — where it takes the form of an addition to the yearly tax 
rate — and the proprietors interested, the proportion of the latter aver- 
aging about three times as much as that of the communes. An accu- 
rate and detailed classification of the lands affected by the proposed 
reclamation was made and the share leviable upon each estimated 
according to the cost of the work done within the boundary of the 
area under consideration, and the benefit estimated as accruing there- 
from. The project will reclaim about 20,000 acres in the Canton of 
Vaud. 

ALGERIA. 

The phj^sical conformation of Algeria presents, broadly speaking, 
three distinct strips of territory, running parallel to the Mediter- 
ranean and dividing the country into three districts, differing con- 
siderably from one another both physically and climatically. The 
most northerly of these zones of territory, which embraces the region 
lying between the peaks of the Atlas Range and the seacoast, is called 
the " Tell." South of the peaks of the Atlas lies a high table-land 
known as the Grands Plateaux ; and still farther south the slopes of 
the table-land, together with the sandy stretches beyond, constitute 
the district of the Sahara. As the conditions affecting irrigation are 
to a large extent governed by the climatic conditions of these districts, 
any study thereof will properly follow the lines of physical demar- 
cation. 

IRRIGATION IN THE TELL. 

The Tell is unquestionably the most fertile region of Algeria. The 
great plains that lie between the foothills and the coast are dotted 
over with prosperous farms and orchards — cultivated for the most 
part by European settlers. In the valleys to the south, where the 
alluvial deposit is deep and rich, and also on the gentle slopes of the 
foothills, agriculture of every sort is practised. It will surprise those 
unacquainted with this part of Africa to learn that the average rain- 
fall in the Tell is about the same as in France, varying from 20 
inches in the extreme west to more than 40 inches in Kabylia, but the 
high temperature . and consequent rapid evaporation prevailing 
throughout the greater portion of the year, combined with the un- 
seasonable — from the standpoint of the agriculturist — periods of the 
rainfall, render artificial aid a requisite for successful agricultural 
operations. The dry season extends from June to October, while the 
rainy months are December and March. The alternations of the 
rainfall is in groups of years, three, four, or more years of one char- 
acter being followed by several years of the opposite, a regular 
alternation of wet and dry years being unknown. 

In a pamphlet published in 1900 b}^ the French reclamation service 
(bureau de I'hydraulique agricole) the number of irrigation enter- 
prises in Algeria in wdiich the Government has been concerned in 
one way or another is given as 576, and the area served by them as 
about half a million acres. Three hundred and ninety-five of these 
irrigation systems, including all the important government works 



44 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

of modern times, are in the Tell; 129 are in the Grands Plateaux, 
and 52 in the Sahara. Most of these irrigation systems are ex- 
tremely small, constructed after the most primitive methods long 
before the advent of the French, and managed by groups or associa- 
tions of interested landowners, and the intervention of the state has 
in the large majority of cases been confined to the settlement of dis- 
putes, the suggestion of improvements, and furnishing technical 
assistance to those requesting it. In the Tell, however, where the 
European settlements are numerous, the Government has constructed 
a number of irrigation systems, including seven of considerable im- 
portance. Of two of these, the Cheurfas Dam and the Habra Dam, 
an account will be given later. With regard to these constructions, 
the experience of the bureau de I'hydraulique agricole seems to be 
that owing to the soft and friable character of the bed rock, which is 
ill adapted as a foundation for large masonry clams, and the conse- 
quent losses and expense from fissures, breaks, and washouts, the 
construction of large masonry dams is unadvisable and that a suc- 
cession of small weirs and low dams, cheaply and easily constructed, 
will be more in conformity with the character of the strata and 
render equally efficient service. 

During the earlier years of the French occupation no rules existed 
as to the manner in or extent to which the Government might aid in 
the irrigation enterprises of the country. Sometimes a subsidy, 
usually a generous one, was granted to a commune or association; 
more frequently the Government constructed the system and then 
handed it over as a free gift to the parties interested on the under- 
standing that they should keep it in proper repair. This system, or 
rather lack of system, was found to work very badly, and since 1889 
the Government subsidizes communes and associations of water users 
only upon their undertaking to pay a part of the cost of the enter- 
prise and to operate and maintain the system in a satisfactory manner 
after construction. The government contribution, which is non- 
repayable, is rarely less than two-thirds of the total cost, generally 
three- fourths, and sometimes even more. Of this contribution, about 
one-fifth is charged to the ministry of the colonies (but not after 
1900) , and the remainder forms part of the budget of the hydraulique 
agricole. The public contribution is usually divided betAveen the 
commune and association interested, the rate of assessment being 
regulated according to the circumstances of each case, but the bulk 
of the payment invariably falls on the association, the communal 
share being rarely more than one-fifth that of the association, and 
frequently much less. Thus, in the years 1889 to 1898, a total sum 
of $1,450,000 was expended upon irrigation enterprises in Algeria. 
This was (approximatel}^) apj^ortioned as follows: 

Hydraulique agricole $960, 000 

Colonies - 195,000 

Department of Algeria 5, 000 

Comnumes 23, 000 

Associations 272.000 

In addition, the Government expended in Algeria during these ten 
years the sum of $1,547,000 on reservoirs and canals for supplying 
towns and villages with water; so that the total expenditure for 
storage and distribution of water was nearly $3,000,000, to which the 
associations of water users contributed $276,000. 



ALGERIA. 45 

DUTY OF WATER. 

In the irrigation districts of the Tell, constructed by the Govern- 
ment and cultivated by European settlers, the average duty of water 
has been established as follows: 

Acres per cusec. 

Cereals and vines 420 

Meadows 280 to 350 

Commnnes 23, 000 

Market gardens 70 to 100 

These figures vary considerably according to the porosity and com- 
position — whether clayey or sandy in character — of the soil. In 
proportion to the distance from the point of delivery an allowance for 
loss has been established differing for each district, the coefficient for 

the valley of the Hamma being S (1+^pnw^)' ^^^^^® S=superficies 

J_ V/ • \J\J\/ 

and D= distance in meters. For the duty of water in the same district 
the coefficients are: Gardens, 90; orchards, 30; meadows, 20; vines 
and cereals, 16. 

THE GHEUEFAS BARRAGE. 

Upon the site of a small diversion dam, constructed in 1844, a wall 
53| feet liigh was built in 1849, creating a storage capacity of 
106,000,000 cubic feet. This quantit}^ proving insufficient and out of 
proportion to the flow of the River Sig, a second masonry dam, 96 
feet in height, was built across a gorge higher up the river. The 
construction, which was executed in 1880-1882, cost $230,000, of 
which the State contributed $60,000 and the syndicate of water users 
paid the rest. 

On the 8th of February, 1885, the water forced its way between the 
end of the dam on the right bank and the side of the mountain and 
made a breach 135 feet wide on the right bank of the river, emptying 
the reserA'oir with great rapidity. The small dam downstream was 
entirely swept away. 

The syndicate immediately built a masonry diversion dam on the 
site of the small dam, to serve the same purpose as the original weir 
of 1844. They then undertook to replace the upper reservoir. The 
masonry dam, which was undamaged, was extended across the break 
in the right bank to solid rock. This work occupied seven years, 
from 1886 to 1892, and cost $360,000, to which the Government con- 
tributed $275,000. 

The length of the crown of the clam, which before the accident was 
355 feet, was extended to 708 feet. The dam consists of two walls of 
masonry, 407 and 301 feet, respectively, forming an angle of 128°. 
The construction of the dam walls is as follows : 

Upon a rubble foundation, 33 feet deep, 138 feet wide at the base, 
and 79 feet wide at the level of the river bed, was built a masonry 
wall 72 feet wide (inset 3^ feet on either side), 98 feet high. The 
width at top is 4 meters (13.12 feet). A perpendicular from the 
bisection of the crown to the top of the foundation shoAvs a reduction 
in width on the upper side of 3 in 5 and on the lower side of 15 in 17. 
The spillway, 3.28 feet lower than the top of the dam, is 197 feet 
wide. 

The capacity of the Cheurf as reservoir is 636,000,000 cubic feet, and 
it serves 17,000 acres. 
77331—09 4 



46 GOVEKNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

THE HABRA BARRAGE. 

The Habra dam was originally constructed in 1865-1873 by the 
Franco- Algerian Company on the Habra Eiver, about 7 miles above 
Perregaud, at an expense of $480,000. The dam gave way on Decem- 
ber 15, 1881, and the expense of replacing it amounted to $276,000. 
This sum was paid by the Government, but the company was after- 
wards required to pay a contribution of $90,000. In addition the 
water users contributed $8,800 for the installation of hydraulic sluice 
gates. 

The total length of the crown of the dam is 1,505 feet, which 
includes a spillway 410 feet wide at a height of 105 feet above the 
bed of the river and 1,095 feet for the dam itself, which is composed 
of two walls of masonry, 685 feet and 410 feet, respectively, forming 
an angle of 176.30° on the downstream side. 

The storage capacity of the Habra dam was originally 1,060,000,000 
cubic feet, but silt deposits have reduced this to 850,000,000. It serves 
about 90,000 acres with water for irrigation and also furnishes the 
water supply for the town of Perregaud. 

It is noteworthy that out of the 7 principal irrigation systems 
described in the pamphlet of the bureau, 3 have given way, neces- 
sitating extensive repairs and in some cases complete rebuilding, and 
2 have proved failures owing to the deposits of silt, the capacity of 
the Barrage de la Djidiouia, for instance, being reduced in fourteen 
years from 2,450,000 cubic feet to 420,000 cubic feet, or about one- 
sixth of its former volume. The systems which have proved most 
satisfactory are the small reservoirs, serving from two to five thou- 
sand acres. 

IRRIGATION IN THE GRANDS PLATEAUX. 

Only 1 of the 129 systems enumerated by the hydraulic bureau is 
of government construction. The rest represent the unaided efforts 
of the inhabitants, dating from a period long anterior to the French 
conquest, to turn the mountain streams to profitable use. The verdict 
of the bureau with regard to this district is that it is, from the point 
of view of the irrigation engineer, the best handled in Algeria. The 
systems themselves, which are very small, are managed without 
trouble or disputes. A long experience has taught the inhabitants the 
construction best adapted to the conditions of the locality, and the 
duty of water is much higher on the Grands Plateaux than in any 
other part of Algeria, reaching in many districts as high as 700 
acres for cereals and vines, and other products in proportion. 

The government work referred to is a diversion weir at Oued 
Chair, consisting of a masonry dam 22 feet high and 670 feet long, 
by which the waters of the Chair are turned into a canal which sup- 
plies about 2,000 acres of cereal crops, with an average flow of 7 
cusecs. 

IRRIGATION IN THE SAHARA. 

The valleys that descend along the southern slopes of the Hauts 
Plateaux into the sandy plains of the Sahara have been for many 
years, probably for centuries, the scene of intense cultivation; every 



ALGERIA. 47 

stream is utilized to its utmost cai3acity, and the oases to the south 
owe their existence to the canals that conduct the Avater from the foot- 
hills across the desert. 

The water supply of the valleys and foothills of the Sahara being 
thus carefully conserved and distributed, the Government has done 
no construction work in connection with irrigation in this district; 
it has, however, occasionally assisted the inhabitants to secure a more 
efficient service of water. Thus in 1899 the State shared with the 
commune of Biskra the expense of cementing the canals supplying 
water to the oasis of Oumache, in consequence of which operation 
the supply was more than doubled, the insalubrious marshes, the 
result of infiltration of long standing, entirely dried out, and the 
prosperity and population of the whole district very largely increased. 
Since then other operations similar in character have been carried 
out in the Sahara with equal success. 

Farther south, in what may be called the Sahara proper, the Gov- 
ernment has been more active ; many artesian wells have been drilled, 
old and choked-up wells have been cleaned out, deepened and re- 
paired. In these operations the intention of the Government has 
been to require the inhabitants to bear a part of the expense wherever 
possible, as it is found that this gives them a sense of responsibility 
for and interest in the enterprise otherwise lacking, and that they 
take in consequence more pains to keep the canals and wells in proper 
repair. The proportion required of them is small, consisting merel}^, 
in many cases, in their paying for the casihgs left in the wells after 
they are brought in. 

THE DRAIXIXG OF THE MARSHES. 

Recognizing the hygienic importance of drainage in a country 
like Algeria, the Government has carried out a number of operations 
of this character in different parts of the Tell, either as a state 
project or with the cooperation of the communes and departments; 
in some cases the proprietors benefiting by the undertaking have 
borne a share of the expense. 

The direction de I'h^^draulique agricole enumerates 23 of the prin- 
cipal drainage undertakings, of which the following may be cited 
as examples: 

The unwatering of the Valley of the Gardens at Mostaganem, 
which cost about $26,000, of which the GoA^ernment contributed 
$10,400, the department $2,000, and a syndicate representing the local 
landholders and the three communes interested $7,600. The results 
have been entirely satisfactory; a large quantity of land has been 
restored to profitable culture, and the malaria formerly prevalent in 
the district has completely disappeared. 

The Lake Halloula, a depression in the western end of the Mitidja, 
just behind the range of low hills known as the Sahel of Algiers, 
was in winter a sheet of water of about 5,000 acres in extent, and in 
summer a fever-breeding swamp. The draining of this swamp was 
begun some fifty years ago by the army engineer corps, and the 
flooded surface was in consequence reduced to little over 500 acres. 
A sum of $4,000 is annually appropriated for the purpose of main- 
taining the existing canals and extending the system. The surface 
inundated does not, even in rainy winters, exceed 300 acres, and will 



48 GOVEKNMENT KECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

probably eventually disappear entirely. The expense of this work 
was borne by the Government. The State has been urged to expedite 
the draining of this region by constructing a tunnel through the 
mountain, at a cost of $280,000; but it was decided that the result 
attainable did not justify the outlay. 

The unwatering of the plain of the Mitidja immediately south of 
Algiers, has been effected by means of a network of ^canals, which 
empty into the numerous rivers that traverse the plain. This dis- 
trict, which was formerly a pestilential swamp, known as " the 
grave of Europeans," is now one of the richest and best cultivated 
in the colony. The work was executed by a syndicate, which main- 
tains the canal system, about 45 miles, in working order. 

Although the Government has done a great deal in this direction, 
it recognizes that much more yet awaits accomplishment. Several 
important drainage projects have been approved and will doubtless 
be carried into execution. The greatest of these undertakings is the 
contemplated unwatering of the lake of Djendli which, when carried 
into effect, will render fertile and open to colonization an immense 
region now uninhabitable and pestilential. 

PROTECTION AGAINST FLOODS. 

This branch of reclamation work has received hitherto but little 
attention in Algiers, but the Government considers that it is destined 
to be greatly developed in the future, and numerous associations are 
being formed with this object. The policy of the Government with 
respect to work of this character has been to leave the execution of 
the Avork to the riparian proprietors, as being the only persons 
directly interested, except where a public highway is in danger from 
freshets. Monetary assistance, however, has been granted as in the 
case of irrigation enterprises. 

The most important Avork of this character is the embanking of 
the Oued Djemaa, which is effected by means of solid masonry dikes. 
Toward the repairs of ^he dike on the right bank of the river the 
Government contributed $6,600, and also four-fifths of the expense 
of the dike on the left bank, the estimated cost of which was $19,000. 
In this case the amount of the government subsidy Avas determined 
by the consideration of the protection to Avhich the settlers in the 
plain below the Djemaa Avere entitled. 

CAPE COLONY. 

GoA^ernment participation in land reclamation by means of irriga- 
tion is, in the Cape of Good Hope Colony, intrusted to the irrigation 
department, consisting of a director of irrigation and headquarters 
staff, three district engineers with field assistants, and tAvo survey 
parties. 

For administratiA^e purposes the irrigable portion of the colony — 
which, practically speaking, amounts to the Avhole area, Avith the 
exception of the eastern corner, between Natal and Basutoland — has 
been divided into three circles, of Avhich the district engineers are in 
charge ; and for judicial purposes into sixty-five Avater-court districts, 
corresponding wherever feasible to the county divisions of the colony. 



CAPE COLONY. 49 

The legal basis of irrigation development in the colony is the act of 
1906. This act is in part a consolidation of past legislation and in 
part marks an advance in respect of promotion of irrigation develop- 
ment by the State with surveys, professional advice, loans on easy 
terms, and the like. 

Under the terms of the act the irrigation department carries out 
systematic reconnaissance surveys, having for their object the dis- 
covery of the irrigation possibilities of the country, large and small, 
chiefl}^ the latter ; the collection of hydrographic data and the general 
education of the farming community in irrigation matters; and pro- 
fessional engineering advice is given at nominal rates by the depart- 
ment engineers to parties consulting them. 

The main principle of the present irrigation policy in the colony is 
to foster to the utmost extent the development of irrigation by indi- 
viduals or cooperative bodies. The construction of purely state 
irrigation schemes, though a few small ones exist, is considered for a 
variety of reasons at present inexpedient. 

The following are the more important provisions of the irrigation 
act of 1906 : 

PART I. DEFINITIONS. 

Perennial stream. — This term means a natural stream which in ordinary 
seasons flows for the greater part of the year in a known and defined channel 
and the water of which is capable of being applied to the common use of the 
riparian proprietors. Provided that a stream which in part only of its course 
satisfies these conditions shall be deemed to be a perennial stream in so far only 
as regards such part. 

Intermittent stream. — This term means a stream which is not a perennial 
stream, and into which the natural surface drainage waters flow from the 
lands of more than one riparian property. Provided that a stream shall not be 
deemed to be an intermittent stream above the highest point of its course at 
which the natural surface drainage waters from the lands of more than one 
riparian property unite, or for such lower portions of its course as satisfy the 
conditions of a perennial stream. 

PART II. UTILIZATION OF STREAMS. 

1. Every person is entitled to the exclusive and unlimited use and enjoyment 
of all water rising on his own land : Provided that nothing in this section shall 
affect the right of a riparian owner to a reasonable share of water which, rising 
on the land of an upper proprietor, flows down for the greater part of the year 
beyond such land in a known and defined channel and has for a period of at 
least thirty years been used by such riparian owner, or shall affect another 
existing right. 

2. Every riparian owner is, subject to all existing rights of other persons and 
to the provisions of this act, entitled to a reasonable use for purposes of irriga- 
tion of the water of a perennial stream with reference to which his property is 
riparian. 

3. Subject to the existing rights of others, every riparian proprietor is en- 
titled to use the water of an intermittent stream flowing on, to, or over his 
property, by diverting it on to hisriparian land for the irrigation thereof; and 
he shall moreover be entitled to impound and store such water for the said 
purpose and for domestic, agricultural, manufacturing, and drinking purposes : 
Provided, however. That if at any time any riparian proprietor along a stream 
shall consider that an upper riparian proprietor is impounding or storing a 
greater quantity of the water of such stream than he could reasonably be ex- 
pected to use for the purposes stated, it shall be competent for the first-men- 
tioned proprietor to apply to the water court for an order declaring the quan- 
tity of water which, in the opinion of such court, such upper proprietor re- 
quires to impound or store for the said purposes ; and thereafter such upper 
proprietor shall not be entitled to imi)ound or store any greater quantity of 
water than that authorized by such order. 



50 GOVERN-MENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

4. Where, owing to variation in its course from natural causes, a stream which 
constitutes the boundary of two or more properties riparian thereto ceases to 
flow between or separate such properties, the boundaries of the respective prop- 
erties shall remain as theretofore, but the changes in the course of the stream 
shall not deprive the owner of the property so cut off from the stream of his 
riparian rights, and every such last-mentioned owner shall be entitled to apply 
to the water court of the district in which his property is situate, at any time 
within ten years from the date of such change in the course of the stream to 
prescribe such point or points on the new course of such stream as to the said 
court may appear necessary, with right of access thereto along a convenient 
line to be determined by such court, to enable such owner to take water from 
such stream for domestic purposes and to water his stock. 

5. Accretions formed by any stream which add gradually and imperceptibly 
to a riparian property belong to the riparian proprietor of the bank to which 
such accretions are added, and the provisions of the preceding section shall not 
apply where the stream changes its course but still continues to flow in the 
same bed, although in a different channel. In such a case, the land in the river 
left vacant by the change shall belong to the owner of the bank adjacent to the 
ground so left vacant. 

6. When a diversion, as specified in section 4, takes place from natural causes 
to the detriment of an owner riparian to any stream, it shall be lawful for the 
owner thus prejudiced to apply within one year after the said diversion has 
taken place to the water court of the district for permission to construct such 
works as in the opinion of the water court may be necessary for the restoration 
of the stream to its old channel, and within such period of time as the water 
court may decide and shall prescribe. 

PART III. RIVER DISTRICTS AND BOARDS. 

7. Any three or more riparian owners who, being entitled to use the water 
of a stream or streams, deem it expedient that there should be a combined 
system of control over such stream or streams, may present a petition to the 
minister to whom the administration of this act is assigned, praying that an 
area containing the stream or streams, together with the properties riparian 
thereto, may be constituted a river district : Provided, That the persons signing 
the petition be owners of not less than one-tenth part in area of the riparian 
land irrigated from, or of the properties riparian to, the stream or streams 
within the limits of the proposed district. 

8. The minister shall thereupon cause an engineer to make such inquiry into 
the subject-matter of the petition as the minister shall deem necessary. Due 
notice of the inquiry shall be published in the Gazette and in some newspaper 
circulating within the proposed district, and in such other manner as the min- 
ister shall direct, and the engineer shall report the result of his inquiries to 
the minister, who may, if he thinks fit, vary the limits of the proposed district. 
The minister shall then satisfy himself that the owners of more than two- 
thirds of the properties riparian to the streams within the proposed district, or 
the owners of more than two-thirds of the riparian lands irrigated from the 
streams within such properties are in favor of the creation of the district, 
such owners in each case to represent more than two-thirds of the total num- 
ber of owners; and in either event the governor may proclaim the area to be 
a river district: Provided, That no tributary stream shall be included in a 
river district containing the stream of which it is a tributary, unless the owners 
of more than two-thirds of the total area of the properties riparian to the 
tributary stream, within the limits of the proposed district, or of more than two- 
thirds of the riparian lands irrigated from it within these limits, are in favor of 
the inclusion, such owners in each case to represent more than two-thirds of 
the total number of the owners. 

9. The superintendence of all acts relating to the conservancy of the streams 
in a river district, and to the storage, diversion, and use of the water therein 
shall, subject to existing legal rights and the provisions of this act, be vested 
in a board to be called a river board. The board shall be a body corporate 
and shall have such name as may be given to it by a proclamation of the gov- 
ernor, and by that name it shall sue and be sued, hold property and have 
perpetual succession. 

10. The river board shall consist of not less than 3 nor more than 11 mem- 
bers, elected by the riparian owners and rate payers within the district. The 
qualification and scale of voting being as follows : 



CAPE COLONY. 51 

(1) Where the ratable values of a river district have been determined 
every owner of not less than 1 morgen (2.11 acres) of ratable property or 
more than 5 morgen shall have one vote in respect of each vacancy to be filled 
up at the election, and one for every additional 5 morgen or part thereof up 
to 50 morgen (105 acres) and thereafter an additional vote for every 25 morgen 
in respect of each vacancy. 

(2) Where the ratable values of a river district have not been determined 
every owner of property riparian to a stream in the district may vote at an 
election of members of the board, the scale being as follows: If the valuation 
of the property in respect of which he is entitled to vote does not exceed £500 
($2,425) he shall have one vote in respect of each vacancy required to be 
filled by the election and an additional vote for every additional £500 or part 
thereof. 

11. The duties and powers of the board shall, subject to the provisions of 
this act, include the following : 

(o) To exercise general supervision over the streams in the district and 
where necessary to cleanse, deepen, widen, straighten, or otherwise improve 
them ; to protect the sources of their water supply and prevent waste and any 
unlawful act which might diminish that supply; by lawful process to prevent 
or stop any unlawful diversion or storage of the water and to remove any 
obstruction in the course of a stream : Provided, That the board shall have 
no right to institute or defend any action involving a declaration of rights 
without the consent of two-thirds of the riparian owners within the district 
present at a meeting specially called for that purpose. 

(&) To investigate and record, in accordance with regulations the quantity 
or share of water which, at different stages of flow in every stream in the dis- 
trict, every person having any rights in respect of the water in the stream is 
entitled to use, and the times at which such quantity or share may be taken, 
where these have already been legally fixed and defined. 

(c) To supervise the distribution and use of water from the streams in the 
district in accordance with established rights. 

12. Any person aggrieved by an order or act of the board may make applica- 
tion for relief to a water court or other competent court. 

13. A river board may, with the consent of the rate payers given at a meeting 
specially called for the purpose, levy rates for defraying all expenses incurred 
or to be incurred by the board. 

PART IV. IRRIGATION DISTRICTS AND BOARDS. 

14. Irrigation districts and boards are created and appointed in a manner 
similar to that prescribed in the preceding sections for the creation and appoint- 
ment of river districts and river boards; and an irrigation voters' list must 
be prepared and annually revised and a copy kept at the secretary's ofllce for 
inspection by any person concerned. 

15. The duties of an irrigation board include the performance and superin- 
tendence of all acts relating to the purchase, construction and maintenance of 
such reservoirs, channels, or other works of irrigation or drainage as are 
necessary for the proper irrigation of the irrigable areas and the drainage of 
the respective properties in the district, and of all matters relative to the ad- 
ministration, control and use of the works and the water stored or diverted 
thereby. It shall be the duty of the board to purchase or construct, and to 
maintain the works necessary for such irrigation or drainage; to obtain or 
conserve the supply of water required therefor ; and to arrange for the equitable 
distribution of the water stored or diverted by the board's irrigation works. 

16. An irrigation board shall consist of not less than 3 nor more than 7 
members. 

17. A member of an irrigation board shall not receive any salary, allowance, 
fee, or reward for or on account of his office as member; nor shall he enter 
into a contract with the board for an amount exceeding £10 ($48.50) or be 
directly or indirectly interested in any such contract, unless he has received 
special permission to do so given at a meeting of the voters of the district. 

18. An irrigation board may levy rates, to be called " irrigation rates," for 
defraying all expenses incurred or to be incurred by the board ; and such rates 
shall be levied upon and in respect of every property having an irrigable area 
in the district and shall be payable by the owner of the property. The rates 
shall be assessed annually by the board at a uniform sum per morgen (2.11 
acres) of irrigable area. 



52 GOVEENMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

19. The irrigation rates sliall be due ^nd payable at the office of the board 
on a day to be appointed by the board, and if, within one month from the day 
appointed the rates have not been paid, the board may, without further demand, 
sue for and recover them as a debt by action in the court of the district, or 
other competent tribunal ; and may, by such means as the board thinks fit, stop 
water flowing from any irrigation work of the board into the lands or premises 
of which the rates are in arrear. The foregoing applies also to the rates levied 
by river boards. 

PART V. WATER COURTS. 

20. A water court shall consist of a resident magistrate having jurisdiction 
over the whole or some portion of the water district, who shall sit with two 
assessors selected from a list of water-court assessors, not less than 10 nor 
more than 25 in number, appointed by the governor after consultation with 
the divisional council. The names of the assessors selected shall be notified 
to all the parties in the contemplated proceedings, any one of whom may 
lodge an objection to any one or more of those selected: Provided always, That 
an assessor shall not sit or take part in proceedings in the result of which 
he has any direct or indirect personal interest. 

21. The general powers and duties of a water court shall be as follows : 

(a) On the application by any person as to a matter in dispute regarding 
the use, diversion, or appropriation of water within the district, or as to any 
matter which by this act can be brought by such person before such court, to 
investigate the matter and make order thereon, 

(6) On the application of any interested person, to investigate, define, and 
record the rights to the use of the water of any stream, channel, reservoir, or 
source of supply, and to apportion the water for irrigation or other purposes, 
where such rights have not been defined or such apportionment made by a 
competent court or in other legal manner. 

(c) At the request of the minister or any superior court, to report to 
such minister or court on the use or waste of water diverted from any stream, 
or on any matter arising out of the provisions of this act. 

(d) To grant, in accordance with regulations, permits for the use of the 
water of any intermittent stream in the district. 

(e) On the application of an owner of land riparian to a stream, to determine 
and fix in accordance with regulations the place or places, either upon the said 
land or upon any land higher up in the conrse of the stream, at which such 
owner shall be deemed to have a right to the use of the water, and to determine, 
if required, the nature and extent of such use at such place or places, having 
due regard to the rights of other owners. 

(/) On an application from any person for the removal of or interference 
with any dam, weir, or other obstruction in the course of a stream, to investi- 
gate the application and make order thereon, including, if the application is 
granted, the compensation, if any, to be paid to any person affected by the 
order. 

((J) Generally, to do any matter or thing in this act provided to be done 
by such court. 

(h) On the application of any interested person, to investigate, decide, and 
record, in the case of any stream whose character has not already been defined 
by a competent court, whether such stream is perennial or intermittent : 
Provided, That an appeal, to be prosecuted within three months, shall be from 
any such decision of a water court to a superior court at the instance of an 
interested person. 

22. Any person aggrieved by the order of a water court may appeal to 
the supreme court to set it aside or vary it ; but no appeal shall be entertaiued 
unless it be made within three months after the making of the order, nor 
unless notice be given as provided by regulations. 

PART VI. EXPROPRIATION OF LAND AND ACQUISITION OF SERVITUDE. 

23. If at any time the Government shall require or deem it to be expedient 
to take or use any land, or the bed of any river, stream, or river tributary, for 
the purpose of irrigating any land or constructing thereon any dam, reservoir, or 
other irrigation work, and there may not be any right or power by law to take 
or use such land or property without the consent of the owner thereof, it shall 
be lawful for the governor to take or use such land or property for the pur- 



I 



CAPE COLONY. 53 

poses aforesaid, and the proprietor thereof shall thereupon be entitled to com- 
pensation, to be settled in case of difference by arbitration. 

24. It shall be lawful for any river or irrijj^ation board, or their officers or 
servants, from time to time, to enter upon and take possession of such lands 
and premises within their district, covered or uncovered with water, as may be 
necessary to enable them to carry out the purposes of this act; to purchase 
any such lands or premises; and to dig, get, and carry away out of or from 
any such lands any materials which may be necessary to enable them to carry 
out the said purposes, paying, however, such recompense or compensation as 
may be agreed upon, or if no agreement, as may be settled by arbitration. 

25. It shall not be lawful for any such board to remove or otherwise interfere 
with any milldam, weir, or other like obstruction, whereby the level of the 
water is raised for milling or other purpose of profit so as to injuriously affect 
the supply of water, otherwise than with the consent of the owner and occupier 
of such milldam, weir, or other like obstruction, until their right to do so has 
been determined by the water court of the district, and until compensation has 
been made to all parties entitled for the injury which may be caused by such 
removal or interference. 

26. A person who, having a right to or the use of water, or being entitled to 
superintend or control the use of water, wishes to employ it or to increase its 
employment for irrigation or domestic use, or the use of stock, or any other 
useful purpose, is entitled to claim under this act the following servitudes 
temporarily or in perpetuity, namely: (a) Servitude of aqueduct, (&) servitude 
of storage (c) servitude of .abutment: Provided, That (1) a temporary 
servitude shall not be for a longer period than three years. (2) No proceedings 
shall be taken for the acquisition of a servitude whilst a dispute as to the right 
to the water in respect of which the servitude is claimed is pending in a com- 
petent court. (3) The servitude shall not giA'e the person exercising it a right 
of property in the land of the servient tenement, and all burdens attached to 
the land shall be borne by the owner of tlie land. (4) No servitude shall be 
claimed in respect of any water, the right to which is in dispute, until such 
disi)ute shall have been settled by some competent court. 

27. Servitude of aqueduct shall consist of the right to occupy, for and in con- 
nection with the passage of water, such laud, the property of another, as may 
be necessary for the purpose, including the right to construct such works as are 
necessary for the passage over, under, or' alongside of another irrigation work. 

2S. Servitude of storage consists of the right to occupy, by flooding with 
water, the land of another by means of a dam constructed on the land of the 
person claiming the right. The servitude shall include the right of passage 
over the servitude tenement, along the margin of and throughout the area 
subject to the servitude, for purpose of maintenance of works, cleansing, clear- 
ance of silt, brushwood, or litter, or any like purposes necessary for the due 
enjoyment of the servitude. 

29. Servitude of abutment shall consist of the right to occupy by a dam or 
weir the bed of a river and the banks adjacent thereto, the property of another, 
as may be necessary for the dam or weir. 

30. A claimant to any of these servitudes must give notice in writing to the 
owner of the land over which he proposes to acquire the servitude, describing 
the line of passage along or the locality upon which and the mode in which 
he proposes to conduct, store, or divert water, or construct works, the works 
which he proposes to construct upon the land, the compensation which he offers, 
and the period of time during which he wishes to enjoy the servitude. If the 
owner does not within one month after the service of the notice agree to the 
proposals of the claimant, the claimant may apply to the water court for the 
settlement of the matters in dis]nite between him and the owner. 

31. The compensation for a temporary servitude shall be an annuity equal 
to the rental value, as nearly as can be ascertained, of the land to be actually 
occupied by the work when completed, together with yearly compensation for 
any actual inconvenience and loss that may be exercised by the servitude. 

32. The compensation for a permanent servitude shall be a lump sum equal 
to the average market value, as nearly as can be ascertained, of the land to be 
actually occupied by the work, together with an annuity as compensation for 
actual inconvenience and loss that may be suffered by the exercise of the servi- 
tude, or, in lieu of this annuity, an amount equal to twenty times the annuity. 

33. A temporary servitude may be converted into a permanent servitude by 
the applicant paying to the owner of the servient tenement such compensation 
as may be agreed upon or, if there is no agreement, application may be made 
to a water court for the determination of the compensation. 



54 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

34. A servitude imposed by order of a 'water court shall lapse if the work 
proposed to be executed is not completed and the water is not utilized within 
three years from the date of such order or within such further period as the 
water court may have fixed. 

PART VII. IRRIGATION LOANS AND GRANTS IN AID. 

35. Loans may be granted to irrigation boards or to private owners of land. 
The security offered by a board must be the rates leviable under the act, or 
such other security as may be approved by the governor. The security offered 
by a private owner must be a mortgage on immovable property. An irrigation 
loan advanced to a board shall be a charge upon the rates of the board, with 
preference over all other charges. 

36. Loans to private owners are divided into three classes : 

(a) Loans not exceeding £500 ($2,425) : When the loan does not exceed 
£500, the amount of the loan, together with any existing mortgages, must 
be under three-fourths of the divisional council's valuation of the property. 
If the enhanced value of the property owing to the proposed works is taken 
into consideration, approved plans and specifications are necessary and the 
amount of the loan, together with existing mortgages, can not exceed two-thirds 
of the valuation. 

(&) Loans exceeding £500 ($2,425) and up to £25,000 ($121,250) : When the 
application for a loan exceeds £500, or the enhanced value of the work is taken 
into consideration, the director of irrigation is called upon to report to the 
minister that the applicant proposes to construct the works in a sufficiently 
substantial and durable manner and in accordance with plans, estimates, and 
specifications approved of by him. 

(c) Loans exceeding £25,000: If the application for a loan exceeds £25,000, 
or is for a longer period than thirty years, the previous sanction of parliament 
is necessary, in addition to the director's report referred to in section (&). 

37. The period of thirty years is the maximum period for redemption that 
can be granted without the sanction of parliament and would be allowed only 
on works of the most permanent class. In the case of pumping and other 
machinery it would probably be from ten to fifteen years only. The interest 
charged is 3i per cent, and the principal and interest are repayable in equal 
half-yearly installments. 

38. The following table shows the amount of the half-yearly payments re- 
quired to amortize a loan of $1,000 with interest within the stated periods : 



Years in which loan is repayable. 



Five ... 

Ten 

Fifteen 
Twenty 



Half-yearly 
payment. 



$109. 8754 
59. 6912 
43. 1298 
34. 9721 



Years in which loan is repayable. 



Twentv-five 

Thirty' 

Thirtv-tive.. 
Forty 



Half-yearly 
payment. 



$80. 1739 
27. 0534 
24. 8893 
23. 321 



In connection with the provisions of the above act and to assist 
individual enterprise in respect of irrigation, special rebates are given 
by the government railways upon the carriage of fuel oil for irri- 
gation purposes and materials used in irrigation works. 



EGYPT. 



Government participation in reclamation work in Egypt is con- 
fined, strictly speaking, to the conservation and distribution of water 
in the public benefit and to the construction and maintenance of the 
works appurtenant thereto — that is, the dams, weirs, barrages, head- 
works, together witli the main distributing and drainage channels. 
Consequently, the Egyptian Government is not concerned with the 
actual operations of land reclamation further than granting con- 
cessions, through the ministry of finance, to various private recla- 



EGYPT. 55 

mation companies. These are somewhat numerous, incorporated 
Land-development companies having multiplied rapidly in Egypt 
during the last ten years, and are chiefly English joint stock com- 
panies having their head offices in London, the most important of 
these being the Aboukir, the Kom Ombo, and the Behera companies. 

The Aboukir Company has operated for several years under gov- 
ernment concession, a large tract of land in the vicinity of Lake 
Mariut (ancient Mareotis). The land lies for the most part at or 
under sea level and, owing to its proximity to the ocean and pos- 
sibly having anciently formed part of the sea floor, is strongly im- 
pregnated with salt. The operations of the company consist chiefly 
in washing the salt out of the soil by repeated floodings, the run-off 
being taken up by catch ditches, which discharge into the main drain- 
age canals of Lake Mariut, whence the water is pumped into the 
]\Iediterranean by the government pumping plant at Mex. AYhen 
the soil has by this means been brought into a condition capable of 
profitable cultivation, the land thus reclaimed is sold to private parties 
in tracts of varying extent. In this manner all but about 4,000 acres 
of the concession have been disposed of. 

The Behera Company was originally a pumping company which 
for several years, during the unsound and leaky condition of the 
Cairo Barrage, held a government contract for delivering water into 
the canals above the barrage. After this was repaired by the British 
engineers the need for the Behera pumping plant no longer existed, 
and in consideration of the surrender of their contract a large tract 
of public land was assigned in fee simple to the company, which now 
controls and operates it. 

The Kom Ombo Company operates in Upper Eg^^pt, and obtains 
the water necessary for the development of its concession by pump- 
ing directly from the river. The company has two pumping stations, 
and the pumps installed there are said to be the largest of their kind. 
The Kom Ombo concession covers about 50,000 acres, of which, how- 
ever, owing to difficulties caused by the absence of humus and the 
sandy surface deposits, only about 5,000 acres have been hitherto put 
in cultivation. 

IRRIGATION WORKS IN EGYPT.<^ 

The most important of the operations of the department during the year 
reported on have been the conversion worlvs in middle Egypt, the talus work 
on the Aswan Dam, and the construction of the Isna Barrage. 

The conversion works in Middle Egypt will, when completed, change from 
basin to perennial irrigation an area of 416,600 acres, of which 301,750 acres 
have already been converted. The total estimated cost of these works is 
$21,000,000, of which $12,150,000 was spent up to the end of 1906. The actual 
benefit which has, up to the end of 1906, resulted to the country from these 
works is estimated to be a rise of rental value of $8,850,000, and of sale value of 
$117,945,000. These figures may seem large, but they are in no way exaggerated. 

The total expenditure on the conversion works of Middle Egypt amounted to 
$3,482,165, and the following quantities of work were executed in connection 
therewith : 

Earthwork cubic feet__ 416, 321, 704 

Masonry work do 18, 179 

New canals. miles__ 226. 178 

New drains do 193. 866 

Lands expropriated acres__ 1, 790 

» From the administration report of the irrigation department in Egypt and the Sudan 
for the year 1906. 



56 GOVERNMENT BECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

The Talus Work at the Aswan Dam. — The severe action of the water, after 
issuing from the under sluices, eroded deep holes in the granite rock which 
forms the river bed downstream of the dam. Some of these holes were several 
meters deep and of considerable size. In some cases they approached closely to 
the foundations of the dam. 

Although the structure was at no time in any danger, it would have been 
highly imprudent to have permitted the erosion in the river bed to continue, 
and it was consequently decided early in 1905 to undertake protective measures 
upon a large scale by removing all inferior rock in the vicinity of the dam 
and filling all the holes worked by water wnth granite masonry. It was also 
decided to construct an apron of the same material downstream of the dam 
and throughout its length. 

The process was as follows: 

The deep channels in the river were closed early in the season, and the spaces 
inclosed were pumped dry. It was found that erosion had taken place almost 
everywhere, even where the surface rock was apparently of the soundest de- 
scription. The bottom of some of these holes descended to a level below that 
of the foundation of the dam itself. The method generally employed for re- 
pairing the damage done was as follows : The ^^'hole of the loose bowlders and 
bad rock were blasted and removed down to the solid rock, often below the 
foundations of the dam itself ; in the deepest channels this was a work of 
considerable difficulty. Masonry was then commenced and the whole filled 
with cement-granite masonry to within 50 centimeters of the floors of the 
sluices. The last stone was laid on July 20, when a continuous talus was 
completed, of a width varying from 30 to 60 meters (98.42 to 196.85 feet), as 
was considered necessary, underneath all the sluices and for the whole width 
of the river except under one set of sluices, where a water cushion has been 
formed by the construction of a cistern. 

The number of workmen employed during the season varied from 2,000 to 
5,000 men, including 500 Europeans. 

The surface of the talus is faced with dressed rubble, and the apron is divided 
into compartments by cross walls running at right angles to the line of the dam, 
the object of these walls being to facilitate the examination of the apron below 
any particular group of sluices. The difference in the action of the water as 
it passes from the sluices is easily discernible from the photographs of the 
completed talus. 

In this connection the following quantities of work have been executed : 

Excavation cubic feet__ 9, 957, 850 

Masonry do 4, 802, 717 

Facework square yards__ 72, 956 

at a cost of $1,413,515, which, added to the cost of the ironwork, gives a 
total expenditure of $1,517,875. 

The I sua Barrage. — In order to improve the irrigation of the Keney Prov- 
ince during flood, it was decided to construct a barrage across the Nile imme- 
diately above the town of Isna. 

The barrage will be an open weir of 120 bays, each 5 meters (16.404 feet) 
wide; abutment piers 4 meters (13.12 feet) thick occur at every tenth opening, 
the intermediate piers being 2 meters (6.56 feet) thick; the piers are spanned 
by arches carrying a roadway 6 meters (19.68 feet) wide. Two regulating gates, 
one upper and one lower, each 3 meters (9.84 feet) high, will be provided for 
each opening; double grooves will be so arranged as to allow both gates to drop 
onto the floor — thus, the upper gate will act as a weir with a movable crest. 

On the western side a lock 16 meters (52.48 feet) wide, large enough to pass 
the largest steamers on the Nile, will be provided. The design is similar to 
that of the Asyut Barrage. 

Drainage in lotcer Egypt. — The work of remodeling by dredging the outfalls 
of the mnin drains and the realignment of many of the smaller branches was 
steadily continued. Arrangements are being made to introduce small dredgers 
into some of the drains which it is impossible to clear by hand work. The 
present puminng power at Mex keeps Lake Mareotis under control, and the 
variations in level during the last five years are not imi)ortant. The quantity 
of water pumped during the year reported on was 410,0(K),000 cubic meters 
r 14.478,940,000 cubic feet==332,390 acre-feet), at a cost of $73,395, or $5.07 per 
1,000,000 cubic feet. 

Sudan irrigation service. — The bulk of the work of this service consisted of 
a continuation of the leveled surveys of the river and adjacent country, a work 



THE TRANSVAAL. 57 

of extreme difficulty, owing to the obstructions of swamps, sadd (weed), and 
thorn bush. Tlie chief object of the studies prosecuted by the service is to 
ascertain wliat is the best and most economical method of obviating the excessive 
waste of water that at present occurs in summer in the Gobel marshes, and at 
the same time of preventing a largely increased flood supply from passing down 
the river channel. These marshes at present act as a most effective escape for 
the flood water, but they also suck up the summer supply and greatly diminish 
its volume. What is required is a scheme that will enable us to escape the 
flood water, as at present, into the marshes and at the same time secure the 
passage of the summer water down the river in undiminished discharge. 

Whether the scheme eventually selected will take the shape of a new cut for 
the river or will consist merely of enlarging and remodeling the existing chan- 
nels can not yet be predicated, but it is evident that, owing to physical and 
climatic causes, the preparation of the projects will take considerably longer 
than was at first anticipated. Until the surveying staff have completed their 
task, no definite proposals or suggestions can be made. The work, when finally 
undertaken, will be one of the most important ever taken in hand by hydraulic 
engineers. It will mean interfering with nature over an extended area of 
:!ountry and altering the regimen of a large river upon a scale larger than has 
ever yet been attempted. It is imperative that before coming to a decision the 
fullest information possible must have been obtained. 

THE TRANSVAAL. 
GENERAL STATEMENT. 

To understand the problems confronting the irrigation department 
in the Transvaal, some knowledge of the hydrographic conditions of 
the countr}^ is absolutely requisite. The Transvaal, which is bounded, 
politically speaking, on the south by the Orange River Colony and 
Natal, on the north by Rhodesia, on the Avest by Cape Colony and 
Bechuanalancl, and on the east by Portuguese East Africa, has for its 
principal Iwdrographic boundaries on the south the Vaal River, on 
the west and north the Limpopo, Avhile on the east several small 
rivers traverse its boundary on their Avay to the Indian Ocean. About 
90 miles from its eastern boundar}^ is the Drakensberg, the principal 
mountain range, from which a steep escarpment descends toward the 
east; to the west the country falls gently. The main watershed 
between the Vaal and Limpopo rivers runs nearly due east from the 
Drakensberg, across the colony, and at an average distance of about 
GO miles from its southern boundary. The general fall from south 
to north, while gradual, is considerable. 

Physically speaking, the country is divided into four districts, 
each with marked distinctive features — the High Veldt, the Middle' 
Veldt, the Slopes of the Plateau, and the Low Veldt. 

The High Veldt has an altitude of from 5,000 to 6,400 feet above 
sea level and forms the extreme eastern summit of the great South 
African table-land ; it is about 140 miles long from east to west, about 
120 miles from north to south, with an area of about 17,000 square 
miles. It is uniform and monotonous in character, consisting of rolling 
country, with wide rises and broad shallow depressions. It is 
naturally treeless, but clothed with short sweet grasses. In this area 
perennial running water is very rare, but the valleys have streams in 
them during the rainy season. There are no defined ranges of hills, 
but occasionally hillocks, known as " kopjes," emerge from the sur- 
rounding veldt. To the east are several depressions, known as " pans," 
some of which hold water, usually brackish, all the year round, but 



58 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WOEK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

most are dry during the fair season. The soil of the High Veldt is 
not rich, but can be tilled in large areas and is not too poor to repay 
cultivation. 

The Middle Yeldt has an altitude of about 4,000 to 5,000 feet above 
sea level and constitutes the remainder of the plateau. It lies chiefly 
to the west of the High Veldt and covers about 28,000 square miles. 
Generally speaking, it is of the same character as the High Veldt, but 
is traversed by long low ridges known as " rands." Pans are less 
frequent, but water courses, either running or dry, are of common 
occurrence. The country is generally treeless, but scrub occurs over 
the rands and mimosa in the valleys. The grass is of inferior char- 
acter for stock purposes. The soil, being derived from nonacid rocks, 
is richer than on the High Veldt, but owing to the stony outcrops and 
rocky dikes can not so conveniently be cultivated. 

The Slopes of the Plateau extend about 35 miles north of the Mid- 
dle Veldt and about 60 miles east of the High Veldt ; their area is 
about 23,000 square miles. The central part of their northern section 
is traversed by three main ridges, the Witwatersrarid, the Witwaters- 
berg, and the Magaliesberg, the first of which is the w^atershed be- 
tween the Atlantic and Indian oceans and contains the gold mines of 
the Transvaal. In this section the country descends by a series of 
ledges parallel to the main ridges, and even the large rivers in it have 
only a small perennial flow. The eastern falls away rapidly with 
ver}^ steep slopes, consisting of sedimentary rocks at the crest and 
igneous rocks, chiefly granite, at the base. The country is extremely 
rough, intersected by numerous valleys, in all of which are perennial 
streams of fair size. The valley bottoms are well wooded with 
mimosa and other trees. The arable land chiefly consists of narrow 
stretches in the valleys ; it is of excellent quality, but, being in isolated 
patches, can not be irrigated on an extensive scale. 

The Low Veldt comprises the rest of the Transvaal and has an area 
of about 43,000 square miles. At the north of the plateau it has an 
elevation of about 4,000 feet, falling gradually to about 2,000 feet at 
the Limpopo. To the east it slopes away to 1,000 feet at the Portu- 
guese border. The Low Veldt is flat and covered Avith thorny scrub 
bush, useless except for firewood. Along the river courses some 
timber trees are found. Water is very scarce in the Low Veldt, and 
the rivers which traverse it diminish in volume and even disappear 
altogether. To the north are several so-called " sand rivers," which 
flow only after the rains, for short distances, and are then gradually 
absorbed. The Springbok Flats, a notable area near Pretoria, about 
20 miles wide and 130 miles long from southwest to northeast, is a 
waterless and almost treeless belt of black '' cotton soil " derived from 
the underlying amygdaloidal diabase. Several experiments have been 
and continue to be made with the object of supplying water to the 
Springbok Flats, Avhich, if they could be irrigated, would become one 
of the most productive areas in the country. 

As a general rule the rainfall may be said to decrease with the ele- 
vation of the country and its distance from the Indian Ocean. On 
the Low Veldt the average annual fall is from 20 to 40 inches; on the 
crest of the Slopes of the Plateau it approximates to 60 inches; on 
the Middle Veldt it varies between 20 to 25 inches, and on the High 
Veldt the average is 30 inches. These figures are mere approxima- 



THE TRANSVAAL. 59 

tions, systematic observations having been conducted only during the 
last three years, or since the establishment of the irrigation depart- 
ment. Usually speaking, the western Transvaal depends for its pre- 
cipitation chiefly upon local thunderstorms. 

The predominant characteristic of the rainfall is its frequent great 
intensity and short duration ; the bulk of it descends in short heavy 
showers. From the records of the government observatory at Johan- 
nesburg, where the rainfall on the central Witwatersrand has been 
recorded for the last ten years, it is seen that over 80 per cent of the 
total precipitation falls in heavy showers of more than one-fourth of 
an inch. Almost exactly one-third is contributed by heavy falls of 
between one-half and 1 inch, and nearly one-quarter by those of more 
than 1 inch. These facts have an important bearing upon the irriga- 
tion of the colony, since run-off and consequent loss in sinks and sand 
patches after those heavy falls is much greater proportionally than 
after the slight showers. 

Irrigation of some sort, as a means of increasing the fertility of the 
soil, has been in use in the Transvaal ever since the advent of the first 
white settlers. AMien the '' voortrekkers," as these men were called, 
came from the cape to the land " across the Yaal," they settled first 
along the riA^ers which were most suitable for irrigation. As the num- 
bers of the newcomers increased and the scarcity of advantageous 
positions from an irrigationist's point of view became known, the 
value of irrigable land with a water right rose rapidly, so that as 
much as $500 an acre has been paid for such land, where the adjoining 
dry land Avould not fetch as much as $5. Upon such farms fancy 
prices are placed, and they are rareh^ obtainable. 

The original settlers naturally constructed only works of a primi- 
tive character ; across the streams sod and dry-stone dams were thrown, 
and from them " water furrows " were led mostly in a haphazard 
manner, without alignment of close grading. Some of the more en- 
terprising farmers are now endeavoring to construct more important 
works, but are hindered by the provisions of the existing water law " 
and the insufficiency of the natural supply. Although the works are 
individually small, they are numerous, and so the total area under 
irrigation is considerable. 

The Boer Government did practically nothing in the way of scien- 
tific irrigation. The only serious attempt at work of this character 
was the construction of an earthen dam at Wolmaransstad, in south-, 
western Transvaal, just before the war, in order to store water for the 
irrigation of the town lands. This reservoir was never brought into 
operation, owing to the faulty design and dangerous condition of the 
dam, which constituted a menace to property below it, and in Janu- 
ary, 190-1, it was cut through to prevent its being breached. At 
Schweizer Iveneke another earthen dam was commenced just before 
the war; the design was equally faulty and dangerous. No other stor- 
age works were planned nor any schemes for the utilization of the 
flow of perennial streams for purposes of irrigation. Boring for 
water was practised by individual farmers, but the Government did 
not take any steps with regard to that matter. 

"The existing lejrislation in respect of riparian and water rigiits in general is very 
faulty and incomplete and has stood in the way of progress along irrigation lines. After 
three years of discussion, a water bill which, ft is hoped, will do away with most of the 
difficulties and abuses, has been drawn up arid is to be presented this year before the 
legislature. 



60 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

About the middle of 1901, Lord Milner, then high commissioner 
for South Africa, invited Sir William Willcocks, a well-known author- 
ity upon Indian and Egyptian irrigation, to visit the country and 
report upon the irrigation conditions. Sir William made an ex- 
haustive report and recommended that the state should undertake the 
construction of irrigation works on a large scale. In January, 1903, 
after the country had begun to settle down on the conclusion of the 
war. Lord Milner asked the Indian government to lend one of their 
engineers to start an irrigation department in the Transvaal, and 
Mr. W. L. Strange was detailed from the Bombay irrigation branch 
for three years ^ for that purpose. Mr. Strange lost no time in organ- 
izing a working irrigation branch. Experienced men were detailed 
from India and Egypt to assist the director, a hydrographic survey 
branch was established, and reconnaissances and cadastral surveys 
of the various catchment areas begun. A hydrographic survey 
branch was formed, and the flow of all the perennial streams accu- 
rately recorded. At the close of the four years of Mr. Strange's 
work in the Transvaal, a mass of working data concerning the hydro- 
graphic conditions of every catchment area in the Transvaal had 
been secured, working plans for nearly 40 projects drawn up, and 
two irrigation works constructed and operated, supplying about 5,000 
acres. In his remarks upon the work of the irrigation department, 
the retiring director says : 

The department has not had an opportunity of showing of what it is capable, 
except in the matter of boring and waterworlvs, and has had to be satisfied with 
preparing for the future. * * * These preliminary investigations will enable 
it to proceed hereafter with greater certainty and economy in constructing 
works for the agricultural development of the country. The importance of 
acquiring hydraulic data, of investigating numerous schemes from which a 
selection can be made for execution, and of training the staff, can not be over- 
estimated. Of all branches of engineering it may be said that such preliminary 
work is most necessary in irrigation in order to avoid the expensive mistakes 
which have been committed not only in South Africa, but elsewhere, and it is 
doubly important in the Transvaal, where practically no irrigation works on 
the extensive and scientific scale necessary have been carried out. It is of 
course disappointing to the staff that in the first four years of the existence of 
the department so little construction work has been carried out * * * but 
it is hoped that with a larger number of members of the legislature interested 
in agriculture, proper irrigation development will be started at an early date, 
and that its progress will be continuously maintained. 

The following account of the Christiana Project, one of the most 
important under consideration, is abbreviated from the director's 
report. 

CHRISTIANA PROJECT. 

This consists of a storage weir to be built across the Vaal at the 
head of a rapid having a total drop of 10 feet, where the foundation 
is good. The foundations of the main weir will be protected by a 
masonry cushion weir built 600 feet downstream. Provision has 
been made for a maximum flood discharge of 500,000 cusecs, which 
is equal to a run-off of 11.5 cusecs per square mile of the catchment 
area. The weir will have a maximum height of 31-J feet, so that the 
canals will soon pass out of the high-flood margin of the river. 
Initial bed level of canal will be 10 feet below its crest and full 

» Afterwards extended to four. Mr. Strange finally left the Transvaal in June, 1907. 



THE TRANSVAAL. 61 

supply depth will be 5 feet. The project provides for irrigation of 
17,000 acres on the Transvaal and 8,000 acres on the Orange River 
Colony side of the Vaal. At the right flank of the weir will be 
imdersluices, 6 by 4 feet, to keep clear the approaches to the canal 
head regulator, which is in continuation of the sluices and is also 
pierced by G by 4 foot sluices for regulating supply to the canal. 
The canal will have an initial bed width of IG feet and will be 34 
miles long. The following works are proposed in connection with 
it ; 1 steel aqueduct of five 25-foot spans, 27 combined superpassages 
and road bridges, 1 flood regulator, 8 natural escapes, 8 scouring 
sluices, 1 road bridge, and 2 railway bridges. The estimate provides 
for distributaries and outlet heads, minor cross-drainage works, 
fencing and plantation on both sides, an inspection road, mile and 
furlong stones and quarters for the staff. 

An alternative scheme for this project is to reduce the length of 
the overfall portion, so that the high-flood depth over it will be in- 
creased to 14 feet and to construct on top of the crest an arcade of 
30-foot spans which can be closed during the dry season by shutters 14 
feet high, the full supply level of the reservoir being therefore the 
same as the high-flood level over the weir. By this plan the storage 
capacity of the weir will be increased from 2,187,000,000 to 11,451^- 
000,000 cubic feet, the length of the backwater from G2 to 100 miles, 
and its irrigating capacity from 17,000 to 90,000 acres. Under the 
original scheme, the cost of the works would be £24.G0 per acre; 
under the larger one, £12.71 per acre. 

The estimated cost of the irrigation projects in the Transvaal is 
high. A general review of the projects gives the average per acre as 
£24, or $11G.40. This is probably due to two main causes: The great 
distance from the manufacturing centers, all machinery and metal 
work having to be brought from Europe or America; and also the 
peculiarly unfavorable physical conditions, such as the narrowness of 
the irrigable lands bordering on the rivers, necessitating an expensive 
canal system, the frequent gullies and fissures, and the careful pro- 
vision requisite for properly storing and safeguarding against the 
flood waters. With all these disadvantages, it is noteworthy that 
the director states that there is every prospect of irrigation in the 
Transvaal being sufficiently remunerative to justify prosecution. 

Toward the close of 1903 the work of boring was begun by the 
department, primarily with diamond drill, to ascertain the geological 
formations, but afterwards as part of the irrigation projects of the 
department; and this branch has been, from the popular point of 
view, the most successful of all. During the first two years it was 
found very difficult to induce the Boer farmers to take interest or 
place confidence in the device, and the government operations were 
confined to departmental and municipal borings ; the success of these 
latter convinced the farmers that the scheme was a practical one, 
and during the last two years 130 holes have been bored for farmers 
in all parts of the country. The result in yield of water has 
been quite satisfactory; but the cost of boring, like that of the 
projects, appears distinctly high, the average being $7.50 per foot. 
As most of the wells are quite shallow — only 1, out of the 250 
bored to date, being over 300 feet deep, and fully one-half of them 
under 150 feet — the expense does not seem fully accounted for by 
the explanation that the formation is a peculiarly difficult one, the 
77331—09 5 



62 (JOVKIINMKNT JIECLAM A'l ION VVOliK IN FOIIEKJN COUNTRIES. 

AV()i"kiii<i: cost Ix'in^ ])r()l);il)ly largely incrcas(Ml ])y the exponse 
and diHiciilly ol Iraiisporlation, the \i\p:,\\ scale of wa<!:es, and the 
hick of skilled di'illers. The sti'ala in the Transvaal are described 
as "very hard; dolomite, chert, granite, dial)ase, (juartzite, etc.," 
sandstone and shale l)eing rarely en(;onntered. The cost char<reable 
to the farmer is one-third the (;ost to the (Jovernnient, iho rest being 
provided for in the budget of the irrigation (le])artinent. This 
averages abont p2S)0 per foot, inclnding casing. In addition, he has 
to provide transportation from farm to farm, and fuel and water. 
'J'he pei'cnssion drills nsed are Austin No. i^, C^^lipper No, 2, and Star 
No. i and No. ti. No rotary drills ai)pear to be nsed. 

T\]\<) WATIOH l\\\A. OV it)()S. 

One of the crhief diflicnlties in the Avay of progressive irrigation 
work has been the nnsatisfac^tory condition of the law, or rather the 
absence of legislalion defining the rights of riparian ])roprietors and 
of the public in resj)ec( of (he water of th(^ public streams. In this 
regard the thii'd chapter of the watcM- bill now before the legislature 
(which, in its other i)r()visions, diU'ers little from the water act of 
Cape Colony) is of interest. 

CIIAPTKU III. TSK OK IM'nLIC AND IMUVATK WATKU. 

(1) Every proinMolor sbjill be eiililled lo nso oxclnslvoly nnd without re- 
slrlcilon all wator rising iialurnlly on the Iniui hold by hin» in so far as snch 
Miller luis not rencluMl a public streaiu or does not form llio source or part of 
(he source of a public si ream. 

(li) All water which lulls or naturally drains onto the surface of land 
shall be the sole and undisputed property of the proprietor thereof as long as 
It remains ui)on such land and does not Join a public slreani.'^ 

i'.i) All water which Joins or forms i)arl of a public slreani shall be i)ublic 
water, the use of which. su1)J(H'1 to ri^dils lawfully acquired, shall be rejiulated 
by this act. 'I'liere shall be no ri.idit of properly in i)ublic water save as is 
otherwis(» provi(l(>(l in r(>spect of surplus walcM- (sec. (5), 

(4) IMiblic waler shall b(» subject to primary, secondary, and tertiary uses. 

'Vhv priujary use of public water shall be the use neci^ssary for the support of 
animal life and, in the case of use by riparian proprietors, the use necessary 
for domestic i)ur|)oS(^s. 

'IMie secondary use of public wat(>r shall be the irrlpilion of land under culti- 
vation, 

'IMie tertiary use of public walci- shall be for mechanical or industrial ])ur- 
poses. 

An upper riparian i)roprietor shall not be entitled to the secondary use of 
public water if lie therel>y prevents its lu'lmary use by any lower riparian pro- 
I»rietor. 

Sul)Ject to the i)rovlsions of this act and to riglds lawfully acquired, an 
upper riparian pro|)rletor sliali be entitled to divert a reasonai)le (pianlity of 
I)ul)llc water for its secondary use, provided lie does not infrinjre the rights 
of any lower riparian i)roprietor 1o such use, and returns the same at a 
delinite place to the public stream with no diminution other than is caused by 
the secondai'y use. 

In d(>ternuning what is a reasonable scH'ondary use r(>gard shall b(» had to 
th(» relative extent of tlu» uppci- rii)arian and lower riparian farms, the area 
and situation of ground cultivated and capal)le of being cultivated, llie extent 
of liver frontag<* of each riparian farm, tlie method of user, the How of the 
public stream, and tlu* rainfall over an area. 

""Public Rtronm " la doflnod as "n nnturnl stronm of water which (a) in ordinary 
seasons llow« for the Ki'e»t(>r part of Die .year In a Itnown and deflncMl chainiel, whether 
or no! siicli clumnel is dry (hiring: any peiMod of tlie year; and (b) is capable of being 
applied [o (he eonuiion use of rli)arlaM proprietors. 



ARGENTINA. 63 

Tlic tertiary use of public water by an ui)i)er riparian proprietor sliall l)e 
sul).jeet to reasonable secondary use of public water by all lower riparian i)r()- 
prietors. 

No ixMson shall have the tertiary use of public water to develop 1)()vv(M" 
jjcreater than ttMi h<)rs(M>ow(n- or for any other purpose witliout the consent of 
the river boartl, which may, subject to the provisions of this act, or the rejjjula- 
tions and the aitproval of the governor, permit such use on terms and con- 
ditions to be specilied by it. 

(5) If the river board is satisfied that durinj? any jieriod of the year all the 
water of a public stream can not be used by all the riparian i)r()prietors, it may 
jxrant permission for the diversion, durinj:: such i)eriod, of the surplus water « of 
such stream: (a) Onto nonriparian farms within the catchnuMit area of such 
stream; or {b) across the watershed of such stream into another catchment 
area in which the suri)lus water can l)e usefully employed for irri.ujation or 
oth(M- puri)oses: Proridcd, 'I'liat (1) a riparian ])r()prict<)r is not thei-cby d(>prived 
of water necessary for land which is, at the time, under irrigation, or might 
thereafter reasonably be exi)ected to be brought under irrigation; (2) in tlie 
grant of the permission, preference shall be given to farms descril)ed in para- 
graph ((/) of tills section. 

((>) Written permission may be granted by a river board, subject to the ])r()- 
visions of this act or the regulations, to any person to store the surplus water 
of a public stream. An appeal shall lie to the minister against tlie grant or 
refusal of such permission. 

Kvery person autliorized under this section to store surplus water shall be 
entitled to the ])roperty in such water and notwithstanding that the suri)lus 
water be left to mingle with the other water in a public stream. 

(7) Any diversion or storage of surplus water und(»r the last two preceding 
sections shall be at a place descril)ed in the permission, which shall also specify: 
(«) In the case of diversion the line of passage of the water; (&) the nature of 
the diversion or storage works; (c) the amount of compensation, if any, to be 
I»aid to any proprietor on whose farm it is stored or through or over whose 
farm the surplus water is diverted or conveyed for storage. 

ARGENTINA. 

There is not one of the South American republics in which the 
rechunation of huid and its beneficial use is more directly concerned 
with the national welfare than Argentina. The inunense stretches 
of prairie, at present covered with an nncertain growth of herbage, 
l)iit responding marvelously to irrigation, the intermittent character 
of the rainfall, and the frequent nattiral facilities for water storage 
oU'ered in the many upland valleys, the numerous rivers which 
intersect the country, Avhose low banks present spcH'ial advantages for 
weirs and intakes, and, in sum, the general topography of the whole 
country, make the conditions exce])ti()nally favorable for the utili-: 
zation of the abundant water supply to the advantage of the agri- 
culttiral interests of the Kej)ublic. At the same time the need for 
irrigation in certain districts of the Staters is undeniable; the produc- 
tiveness of the ])r()vince of Cordova could be enhanced immensely if 
the atmosj)heric deposits of the summer months coidd be stored and 
judiciously applied throughoitt the year, and the greater part of the 
Andine provinces, wln^re hardly any rain falls between November and 
April, could be turned into a region of unsu^'passed fertility by the 
apj)licati()n of similar methods. 

It is admittedly unforttniate that the participation of the (jovem- 
ment in this department of national economics nas hitherto been of a 
spasmodic and, so to speak, academic character. In a few instances 

""Surplus wator " shnll moan any wator In a public stream In excess of tlie normal 
flow of such stream, and any wafer" wliicli, not heinj; required for the uses described In 
(4) on riparian farms, would otherwise run to waste. 



64 GOVEENMENT EECLAMATION WOKK IN FOKEIGN" COUNTRIES. 

subsidies have been granted — ^not always with due precaution and 
possibly never with subsequent supervision and control ; considerable 
sums have been also expended in hydrographic survey work, and 
foreign engineers have been invited to make examinations of the 
natural resources and report upon them — the engagement a few years 
ago of the Italian engineer, Cipoletti, to make a survey of the basin of 
the Eio Negro and report thereon with a view to utilizing its waters 
for irrigation (a report which has not yet been acted upon) is a case 
in point — but no settled policy has ever been adopted with regard to 
irrigation, and it is only quite lately that the Government, by laying 
before the Chambers a plan — to be discussed later — involving the 
appropriation of about $12,000,000 as an irrigation fund, has shown 
a serious appreciation of the important national issues involved in 
irrigation conceived and carried out upon the scale which the physical 
features and the natural water supply of Argentina render possible. 

To give an idea of the natural advantages of the country for irri- 
gation methods, it may be stated that the report of Cipoletti affirmed 
that an area of about 2,500,000 acres could be irrigated by the Rio 
Negro and its tributaries at an estimated cost of about $1.25 per acre, 
a capital outlay which would be recovered many times over by the 
increased value which irrigation would bestow upon the state lands 
benefited thereby. 

The possibilities of extensive irrigation are not confined to the 
basin of the Rio Negro. A survey of portions of the irrigable area 
of the province of Cordova, where at present about 250,000 acres are 
under irrigation, established the fact that at comparatively small 
expense it would be possible to store sufficient water to irrigate over 
1,225,000 acres in addition to the area at present irrigated. In this 
province, on the River Prunero, is the San Roque dam, a masonry 
structure 120 feet high and 377 feet in length, impounding within a 
lake 3,000 acres in extent, about 8,820 million cubic feet of water (over 
200,000 acre- feet), but with all this storage capacity, only some 25,000 
acres, all lying in the department La Capital, are irrigated. 

Most of the irrigated land is provided with water by means of 
intakes directly from the rivers, of a primitive character, consisting 
usually of a small diversion weir, constructed of piles, interlaced 
with branches and brushwood run out into the river, and being 
little more than the extension into the stream of the outer wall of 
the " toma " or intake itself. The physical conditions are usually 
such that large and regular supplies can be derived in this manner 
and without further difficulty; where the slope of the land is 
more rapid, check weirs similar in character to the " toma " are 
constructed along the canal. These primitive constructions, being 
without solidity, are frequently damaged and sometimes carried away 
entirely at the periodic freshets, and their rebuilding and mainte- 
nance constitute a heavy annual burden upon the inhabitants of the 
irrigated districts. 

In the province of Buenos Aires, which has for man}^ years suffered 
severely from droughts and floods — the extensive cattle interests 
being the principal losers — an important canalization scheme, the 
Canal del Norte, was started several years ago by the department of 
public works, but from different causes never completed. An official 
report lately handed in by the government engineer in charge of the 
works gives the following particulars concerning the Canal del Norte. 



ARGENTINA. 65 

The canal consists of two distinct sections — the first from Baradero 
to Saho, 80.8 miles long, composed of the rivers Baradero, Arrecifes, 
and Salto, regulated and turned into navigable canals by means of 
weirs and locks, the channels being corrected and dredged where 
necessary. 

The second section, 79 miles long, which extends from Salto to the 
Mar Chiquita, and passes through the Chacabuco region and the 
town of Junin, is a dug canal provided with locks. Owing to de- 
fective construction, the object for which the canal was constructed — 
the supplying of water throughout the semiarid parts of the province 
in seasons of drought — can not be carried out, and as the amount of 
the original subsidy, some $4,000,000, has been entirely expended, 
a large additional grant is called for to save the whole project from 
complete failure. 

It is stated that one of the members of Congress from the prov- 
ince of Mendoza is shortly to present a bill authorizing the damming 
of two rivers in this province, the Mendoza and the Tunuyan. The 
former irrigates regularly 113,500 acres, and 45,000 acres in addition 
at times of flood, and the latter irrigates regularly 192,600 acres, 
and 56,000 acres more during flood ; and it is estimated that the stor- 
age provided by the dams would increase the irrigable area by more 
than 400,000 acres. There are about 820,000 acres under cultivation 
in this province, including some 84,000 acres of vineyards, estimated 
at about $40,000,000, the value of the remainder being placed at 
about $52,000,000. It is expected that the construction of these dams 
would increase the value of the irrigable property in the province by 
about $130,000,000. 

In the province of Santiago del Estero the provincial government 
has lately voted an appropriation of $86,000 in five monthly install- 
ments for the purposes of irrigation, the sums appropriated to be ex- 
pended in repairing and improving existing works and in the con- 
struction of additional canals and weirs. 

The irrigation law already referred to, which the minister of public 
works has laid before the National Congress, is as follows: 

PROPOSED IRRIGATION LAW. 

Article I. The executive power is hereby authorized to prepare the necessary 
plans for a sj'stem of irrigation works in the provinces of San Luis, La Rioja, 
Catamarca, Salta, Jujuy, and Santiago del Estero, in the zone of the national 
railways, up to 31 miles on either side of the permanent way, provided the 
said provinces accept the benefits of this law. 

Art. II. A sum of $260,000 may be applied out of the general revenues 
toward the completion of said project. 

Art. III. As soon as the plans have been completed and approved, the execu- 
tive power will begin the construction of the works, either by the department or 
by inviting bids for the same according to the requirements of each cf>se. 

Art. IV. Laud required for the construction of embankments, canals, and 
works accessory thereto is hereby declared expropriable for the public benefit. 
All machinery, material, implements, and other requisites for the construction 
authorized by this law shall be exempt from import duties, the minister of 
public works determining what material, machinery, implements, etc., are nec- 
essary, and requesting exemption therefor. 

Art. V. Upon the completion of each project the executive power will fix a 
term for the official registration of the properties to be benefited by the irri- 
gation in such a manner as to irrigate them conveniently according to the 
amount of water available. 



66 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

Art. VI. The owners of the lands inclnde'd in the register shall pay to the 
administration the respective quotas fixed by the executive power; the esti- 
mate of these being based upon the cost of the work and the productive capacity 
of the lands irrigated, in order that the capital outlay required for the con- 
struction may be recouped within a reasonable time. 

Art. VII. The owners of lands included in the register, who shall have com- 
plied with the obligations of the above article, shall thereby obtain preferential 
and perpetual rights to the use of the water for irrigation purposes in suffi- 
cient quantities for the lands included in the register. 

Art. VIII. As soon as the distribution of the water has been fixed for the 
area which can be irrigated with the quantity of water which the canals can 
carry, these waters may not be deviated from their natural sources nor used 
to supply other lands, if such deviation is prejudicial to the landowners who 
have previously secured preferential water rights. 

Art. IX. The preferential rights secured for irrigation shall be understood to 
apply to the lands officially registered, and in case the obligations of the pro- 
prietors are not complied with the executive power may proceed to sequester 
the said lands. 

Art. X. When the works constructed serve for the better utilization of waters 
already in use for irrigation, a right to the said use having been previously 
legally acquired, the lands already thus iiirigated shall retain their preferential 
rights to the use of the water in the quantity already necessary for the area 
previously irrigated, and they shall be registered and pay a share of the cost 
of the works proportional to the benefit derived from the new works. 

Art. XI. The executive power may construct works for the development of 
motive power derived from waterfalls, or may lease them for limited terms to 
private corporations. 

Art. XII. When the capital invested in the works shall have been recouped 
by the receipts, the works shall be turned over to the provinces concernedy 
which shall undertake their maintenance and management. 

Art. XIII. The executive power shall issue decrees for the distribution of the 
water in accordance with the provisions of this law and taking into consider- 
ation the agricultural conditions of each locality. 

Art. XIV. For the execution of these projects an irrigation fund shall be 
established, for which the following provision is made: (1) Twenty-five mil- 
lions of dollars (about $11,000,000 gold) to be obtained, if necessary, by the 
sale of the Andino Railway, as provided in law 4054. (2) The amounts re- 
ceived for the allotted quotas of water right. (3) The revenue from the motive 
power and other industrial factors developed from the water. 

In the preamble to the bill, which bears the signatures of the Presi- 
dent and the minister of public works, it is stated that " so far, irri- 
gation works have only been undertaken in a casual way and artificial 
aqueducts of every kind have been opened up Avithout following any 
rational plan, complying only with the need of the moment. * * * 
This project embraces at the same time a plan for the better develop- 
ment of the railways which pass through the provinces and which 
are the property of the nation." 

The dual significance of this agronomic project is noteworthy. 

CANADA. 
GENERAL STATEMENT. 

All public irrigation works in Canada are carried out by the cor- 
porations or persons interested, subject to the conditions of an agree- 
ment between the minister of the interior and the persons forming 
or representing the company. When public lands are purchased from 
the State, whether by municipalities, corporations, companies, or 
private individuals, for the purpose of installing an irrigation sys- 
tem and applying it to the lands thus purchased, the Canadian gov- 
ernment will credit the total cost of the irrigation works on account 



CANADA. 67 

of the purchase money to be paid for the land, but not so as to exceed 
an amount equal to $2 per acre of the total number of acres pur- 
chased. The regular price for government land is $8 per acre. An- 
other proviso is that a certain proportion of the total acreage must 
actually be irrigated. This proportion varies according to the cir- 
cumstances of the case; in that of the Robins Irrigation Company, 
which purchased nearly 400,000 acres in South Saskatchewan, the 
stipulation was that at least one acre in four should be irrigated. 

The chief irrigation districts of Canada are in South Alberta and 
South Saskatchewan, and the most important enterprise Avhich has 
been undertaken by a railway now in course of construction. This 
project embraces a tract of about 3,000,000 acres, only one-fourth of 
which, however, is regarded as capable of being irrigated. This land 
forms part of the railway construction grant, and therefore no order 
in council was needed to authorize the construction of the irrigation 
works. 

The Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company's project involves 
the construction of about 200 miles of main and subsidiary canals and 
is intended to irrigate about 200,000 acres. 

The Canadian government makes investigation of the flow of the 
streams in the different irrigation districts, and the superintendent of 
irrigation issues annual reports upon the subject, all of which are 
supplied to the public upon application. 

All irrigation w^orks of a public character are subject to the con- 
ditions of the " Northwest Irrigation Act " of 1898, which super- 
seded the previous act of 1804, and of which the main provisions are 
as follows: 

MAIN PROVISIONS OF THE NORTHWEST IRRIGATION ACT OF 1898. 

The property in and right to the use of the water of water courses, lakes, 
marshes, etc., shall be deemed vested in the Crown except in so far as some 
right therein, which is not a public or common user right, is established, and 
no diversion of water is permitted except under the provisions of this act. 
No right to the permanent diversion or exclusive use of such water can be 
acquired by any rii)arian or other owner by user or otherwise except under 
the provisions of the act, unless it is acquired by a grant existing at the time 
of the passing of the act. 

All water-right holders or persons operating works for the utilization of 
wjiter must obtain a license before the 1st of July, 1898. 

Right to use water may be acquired for three purposes: (1) Domestic 
purposes, which includes stock water and water for industrial use, but not 
for sale or barter; (2) irrigation purposes; (3) other purposes. 

Xo rights in the use of water shall be granted which would interfere with 
the domestic needs of persons owning adjoining lands. 

Persons contemijlating irrigation works nuist apply for a license to do the pre- 
liminary work, make surveys, etc., and must, in their application, set forth full 
particulars, with all necessary plans, of the contemplated project. Public 
notice of the filing of the application must be made by the applicant in the 
local newspapers not less than once a week for thirty days, during which time 
protests may be filed. 

If the application and plans are approved, a license to construct the works 
in accordance with the plans will be granted, and in such authorization the 
term within which the works are to be completed will be fixed. No deviation 
from the original plans may be made without permission. 

All works so authorized are subject to inspection by the chief engineer or 
other officer, at the expense, if the minister so decides, of the constructing 
company or persons; and such inspections may also be made upon the applica- 
tion of any ijerson residing on or owning land in the neighborhood of such 



1)8 GOVERNMENT BECLAMATION WOEK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

works, the applicant in this case to deposit a sum sufficient to defray the 
cost of the inspection, the decision as to whether the applicant or the company 
pay the costs lying with the minister. 

Construction work shall commence not later than two months after the 
license is issued and shall proceed continuously until sufficiently completed to 
supply water to all applicants within the area prescribed, and the minister or 
his designated representative shall be the sole arbiter as to whether the work 
is being prosecuted with sufficient vigor. 

For reasons which he deems sufficient, the minister may grant an extension 
of time for the commencement or completion of the works. Any works uncom- 
pleted on the expiration of the time limited for their completion may be taken 
over and operated or disposed of by the minister, compensation being paid for 
such works at their value, such value being ascertained by reference to the 
exchequer court or by arbitration, one arbitrator to be named by the 
governor in council, the second by the licensee, and the third by the two so ap- 
pointed ; or in case of nonagreement, by the exchequer court, and in estimating 
such value the court or the arbitrators may take into account the expenditure 
of the licensee and interest on such expenditure and the value of his property, 
works, and business; provided that no person who at such date is using the 
water of the said works shall be deprived of the amount of water he is en- 
titled to. 

Upon the expiration of the time limited for the construction of the works, the 
chief engineer shall cause them to be inspected, and if the inspection proves 
satisfactory a certificate shall be issued by the chief engineer and forwarded to 
the department setting forth that the works have been completed in accordance 
with the application ; that the necessary right of way has been obtained ; that 
agreements have been entered into for the supply of water for the irrigation of 
lands which are not the property of the licensee, and that the works are capa- 
ble of carrying and utilizing a stated supply of water. Upon the receipt of this 
certificate the minister shall issue a license to the applicant for the quantity of 
water to which he is entitled. 

Licensees shall have priority among themselves according to the order of 
their licenses, and the minister or officer authorized by him shall receive com- 
plaints and settle disputes between licensees as to the water to which each is 
entitled. 

When the works are not of sufficient capacity to carry the amount of water 
acquired by their owner, his exclusive right shall be limited to the quantity 
which his ditch, flume, or other contrivance is capable of carrying, and the find- 
ing of the inspecting officer as to the capacity thereof shall be final and con- 
clusive. 

Every person who willfully, without authority, takes or diverts water which 
he is not entitled to, or takes or diverts a greater quantity of water than he is 
entitled to, is guilty of an offense, and is liable to a fine not exceeding $5 per 
day for each cusec or unit of water improperly diverted, or to imprisonment for 
not longer than thirty days, or to both. This applies equally to licensees. 

Any licensee shall dispose of any surplus water flowing in his works which is 
not being utilized for the purposes authorized to any person applying therefor 
for irrigation purposes and tendering payment in advance for one month at the 
regular prices. 

Persons so applying shall pay an amount equal to the cost of the works re- 
quired to convey the surplus water to them, or shall themselves construct such 
works, and when the works have been constructed and the tender made as 
above the applicant shall be entitled to the use of as much of the surplus 
water as such works have capacity to carry. But such applicant acquires 
thereby no right to the said surplus water when it is needed by the licensee for 
the purposes authorized, nor can he waste, sell, or dispose of the same, nor pre- 
vent the original owners from retaking, selling, or disposing of the water after 
it has been used as aforesaid. 

No licensee shall, subsequent to the first four years after the construction of 
his works, discriminate between the users of water regarding the price thereof. 

If the whole amount of water agreed to be furnished by a licensee is not 
available, then each user shall have furnished to him so much water as shall 
bear to the available water the same proportion as his usual supply bears to the 
whole amount agreed to be furnished. 

Any licensee violating these provisions shall be guilty of an offense against 
this act and liable to a fine not exceeding $1,000 for each offense, or to imprison- 
ment for not more than two months, or to both. 



CANADA. 69 

Tlie minister may g:rant to any liceiiseo tlie rijjlit to store for irrigation pur- 
poses during periods of floods or high water or during periods when water is not 
required for irrigation any water not being used during such periods. 

Companies licensed under this act malce a return to the minister on or 
before the last day of January in each year for the year ended the 31st day of 
December preceding, such return being attested by the oath of the president and 
secretary of the company and showing the amount expended on construction 
and repairs; the amount received from shareholders; the amount of bonds 
issued; the amount received for water supplied for irrigation; the amount re- 
ceived from other sources; the amount of dividend declared and paid; the 
amount of capital stock authorized; the amount of capital stock subscribed; 
the amount of capital stock paid up to date; the amount of bonded indebted- 
ness; the amount bonds sold for; the rate of interest bonds bear; the amount 
of other indebtedness and rate of interest; the cost of management; a state- 
ment of the works, their extent and character, the number of miles of canals, 
ditches, etc. ; the number of users ; the number of acres actually under irriga- 
tion ; the number of acres of irrigable land in this system ; the names of oflBcers 
and employees ; the proposed extensions during ensuing years and acreage ; such 
other data as the governor in council sees fit to order. 

A copy of the by-laws of the company, with all amendments thereto, must be 
attached to said return. 

The returns may be waived in the case of a private person supplying water 
solely to himself. 

No tariff of charges for water furnished by any licensee shall come into oper- 
ation until it has been approved by the minister. 

Any company may acquire land by purchase or lease for improvement by 
irrigation, and shall dispose thereof within fifteen years after its acquisition, 
otherwise such land shall revert to the Crown, excepting such lands as are 
actually under cultivation or are being used for farming, gardening, stock 
raising, tree planting, or forestry, provided that the lands so excepted do not 
comprise more than 10 per cent of the total area of land brought under irriga- 
tion by the company. 

The minister may define the manner in which the measure of water shall be 
arrived at; define the duty of water according to locality and soil; define the 
portion of the year during which water shall be supplied for irrigation ; regu- 
late the extent of diversion of water ; regulate from time to time the water 
rates which may be charged by licensees ; impose penalties not exceeding a fifue 
of $200 or three months' imprisonment, or both, for violations of any regulation 
of this act ; regulate the manner in which water is to be supplied, whether con- 
tinuously or at stated intervals, or under both systems ; make any regulations 
which are considered necessary to give the provisions of this act their full 
effect. 

BRITISH COLUMBIA. 

In August, 1907, the government of the province of British Co- 
lumbia appointed a commission consisting of F. J. Fulton, a member 
of the cabinet, and Prof. L. G. Carpenter, of Fort Collins, Colo., to 
make an investigation of the conditions of the province as concerning 
irrigation and the best method of dealing therewith. The following 
is a summary of the report of the commission as applying to the irri- 
gation problems of the province: 

The Province is bounded east and west by high ranges of mountains, and the 
intermediate area with masses of lower elevation, from 4,000 to 7,000 feet, 
generally wooded and forming the sources of many small streams. The large 
rivers, such as the Fraser, Thompson, and Columbia, have cut their channels 
below the elevation of the surrounding country, and are therefore out of con- 
sideration for use in irrigation, which must be, with slight exceptions, supplied 
by the smaller streams. 

The location of the land on benches above the streams in comparatively small 
tracts makes the construction of gravity ditches on a large scale almost out of 
the question on account of the excessive cost. The natural development is by 
irrigation from the side streams or by some system which will take the water 



70 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

from the main streams and use it on a limited tract, wbicli necessitates some 
system of pumping. 

Undoubtedly nearly all the valleys and benches at an elevation of less than 
2,000 feet may be turned into productive land of high value, if sufficient water 
can be applied. In general, 3 to 5 acres of watershed will be required to irri- 
gate 1 acre of land, but the conditions are such that almost no limit can be put 
to the future development. The casual examination of southern British Co- 
lumbia would indicate that several hundred thousand acres might reasonably 
be expected to be developed within a reasonable time. Moreover, the limit to 
irrigable land dependent upon a fixed water supply tends to increase, because 
it is a well-known fact that a given amount of water will serve more land after 
the land has been irrigated for a few years. 

It is evident that British Columbia is destined to be an extensive area of ir- 
rigated land of high value, which will be subdivided into small holdings and 
will maintain a large population. This future development will, to a very great 
extent, depend upon reservoirs. The small streams heading in the low moun- 
tains are apt to become low at the period of the year when water is most 
needed. At other seasons there is an excess of water. In many of these cases 
there are splendid reservoir sites, some of which can be utilized at little cost. 
There are other natural lakes which touch upon privately owned land. Orchards 
require water late in the season when the streams are low. The storage of 
water becomes therefore of great importance. 

In connection with reservoirs, is associated the right to use the streams to 
carry the water from the reservoir to the canal. 

Duty of ivater. — For the conditions of British Columbia, no single amount 
would probably be better than an amount of 75 acres per cubic foot per second. 

There is also destined to be much development by pumping of water from 
streams. 

With respect to legislation concerning irrigation in the province, the most 
necessary changes are, first, a recognition of the right to store water in reser- 
voirs, expropriate land for that purpose, carry water through natural streams ; 
second, a means of adjusting the excess records already existing on streams; 
third, a water administration, which would develop as necessity arises. This 
would best be under one responsible head and under such provisions as best 
accords with the spirit of local institutions. 

DOMINICA. 

Owing to the formation of a delta at the embouchure of the Yaque 
del Norte River, the shallowness of the channels into which the river 
became subdivided rendered navigation impossible. In order to render 
the main channel navigable, the smaller branches were partially 
closed by dams, thus throwing the main body of water into the 
principal channel. The result of this was to deepen the bed of the 
main channel so as to bring the normal water level below that of the 
smaller branches and thus cause an area of land about 400 miles 
square, previously one of the most fertile spots in the island, to be- 
come barren for lack of water. 

Remedial legislation with regard to this tract has been for some 
time under consideration, and the Government has finally decided 
to construct a system of irrigation canals through this district. The 
plan approved is an extremely simple one, consisting of raising the 
water into a reservoir at the point of divergence from the main chan- 
nel and conducting it thence by gravity along the canals. The es- 
timated cost is not to exceed $500,000. The land commanded by the 
project is at present worth from $2 to $5 per acre, but Avill probably 
increase rapidly in value as soon as the government work is begun. It 
is remarkably fertile and especially adapted to the cultivation of 
cacao, sugar cane, and bananas. 



GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 71 

CEYLON. 

The regulations according to which matters relative to irrigation 
in Ceylon were administered were consolidated and amended in 190G 
under an ordinance entitled " The Irrigation Ordinance, 1900," the 
main provisions of Avhich are as follows : 

Any district in the island may be proclaimed by the governor in council an 
irrigation district for the management of matters connected with irrigation in 
that district. 

After the proclamation, the proprietors within the district shall meet and 
decide whether the ordinance shall be operated with the aid of headmen or vil- 
lage councils, or both; and shall appoint a committee representing the district, 
to be associated with the government agent for consulting with him and advis- 
ing him in matters connected with irrigation in the district. The committeemen 
shall serve for five years. 

Headmen. — The proprietors within the irrigation district may elect one or 
more headmen, whose duty shall be to attend to all matters connected with 
the irrigation and proper cultivation of the paddy fields, maintenance of rights 
and works, and to see that the provisions of the ordinance are properly carried 
out, subject to the direction of the government agent. The headman shall be 
reimbursed for all his expenses and may be awarded remuneration for his 
services either in money or in kind. 

Village couiicUs. — The village council shall consist of not less than three nor 
more than seven men, selected by the president of such council (who shall be 
the government agent or person deputed by him) from among the proprietors 
of irrigable lands in the district. The council shall hold inquiries into matters 
concerned with alleged breaches of the regulations of the irrigation ordinance 
of 1906, the proceedings shall be summary, and the council has the power to 
inflict penalties not exceeding'30 rupees ($10). 

In case it is proposed to construct a new irrigation work, or to repair, im- 
prove, or extend an existing work, the government agent may call a meeting 
of proprietors to decide what action should best be taken, and whether govern- 
ment aid is necessary. 

The probable cost of the proposed work having been estimated and gov- 
ernment aid not being deemed necessary, the majority " of the proprietors 
shall determine the rate of contribution toward the work payable by each pro- 
prietor either in money or in kind in respect of each unit of measurement of 
liis land ; and the government agent shall prepare a similar specification show- 
ing the contribution charged against each land and payable by the owner 
thereof. 

If the majority of the proprietors determine that government aid is necessary 
the government agent shall record the rate of contribution which the proprietors 
are willing to make toward the work, shall make out a report setting forth the 
irrigable area of the district, the names of the proprietors and probable aggre- 
gate returns, and submit the application of the proprietors with this report 
and his recommendation to the governor. 

If the governor sees fit to approve of the application he will, if necessary, 
a use a survey of the laud to be prepared, and shall cause a plan and estimate 
of the proposed work to be made ; and he shall further decide whether the con- 
tributions offered by the proprietors are sufiicieut, and if not, refer the pro- 
posal back to the government agent for adjustment. 

The contributions paj^able by a proprietor may be either: (1) A rate per 
acre per annum in perpetuity, to provide for the cost of construction and of 
maintenance, or (2) a lump sum per acre, payable in a fixed number of annual 
iBfStallments, and the cost of maintenance, payable by means of an annual rate; 
or (3) a share of the whole cost of the work, proportionate to the area of the 
proprietor's land found capable of irrigation, payable in 10 equal annual install- 
ments, and the cost of maintenance, payable by means of an annual rate. 

The governor shall have the power to catise the specification of the irriga- 
ble lands to be from time to time filtered and enlarged as additional lands may 
be found irrigable. 

" " Majority of propriotors " means a majority consisting of two-tliinis at least of the 
proprietors present, provided such majority represents at least one-third of the irrigable 
acreage ; if not, then the votes of the proprietors representing two-thirds of the irrigable 
acreage shall donstitute the majority. 



72 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

Crown lands capable of being irrigated may be sold, subject to a yearly rate 
per acre in perpetuity on tbe lands so sold, as their share of the cost of the 
works and their maintenance. 

Proprietors are allowed, subject to the approval of the governor in council, 
to convert their contributions into a rate per acre per annum in perpetuity 
if they desire to do so. 

The rate for maintenance shall be assessed by the government agent. In 
making this assessment the agent shall be guided by the report of the director 
of irrigation, giving the estimate of the probable cost of annual maintenance 
for such work and in the case of any work which has been maintained for 
more than five years by the actual cost of maintenance of such work for the 
preceding five years. The rate shall be reassessed by the government agent 
at the end of every period of five years. 

FORMOSA. 

The chief products of the island of Formosa are rice, sugar, and 
tea, and as all these require a sufficient amount of water at regular 
periods in order to give the best results the irrigation problem is 
one of considerable imj3ortance. Scientific storage of the rainfall on 
an extensive scale forms one of the plans of the Japanese for the de- 
velopment of the resources of the island, and a bureau of irrigation, 
a subdivision of the department of public works, has lately been 
established. 

There are in Formosa about 375,000 acres under cultivation in rice 
alone. One-half of this, roughly speaking, is irrigated by a system of 
canals and earthen reservoirs constructed during the Chinese occupa- 
tion. The Japanese irrigation bureau proposes to provide irrigation 
for the rest of the rice fields and at the same time protect the district 
against damage from inundations during the rainy season. 

Before the advent of the Japanese the Formosa sugar-cane growers 
believed that the sugar cane required no moisture except that pro- 
vided by the rainfall. Since then, however, the native canes have 
been generally abandoned in favor of the superior Hawaiian and 
Javanese plants, and it is discovered that to get the best results from 
these irrigation of some sort is necessary. There are about 90,000 
acres planted in cane, and the irrigation bureau has included this 
area in its proposed irrigation system. 

Besides the lands alread}^ planted in rice and sugar cane there 
are large districts which at present, ow-ing to the danger of inunda- 
tion and from similar causes, are hitherto uncultivated; it is pro- 
posed to include these lands also in the irrigation belt, thus bringing 
the acreage of the irrigable district to about 1,000,000 acres. 

The estimated duty of water is 50 acres per cusec for rice, and 100 
acres per cusec for sugar cane. 

No official information has as yet been published concerning the 
projects of the bureau of irrigation, but it is stated that these will 
necessitate an expenditure of about $15,000,000. The system will 
consist of more than 60 canals, several of which will be lined with 
masonry or concrete. The reservoirs supplying the canals wall have 
masonry and concrete dams. Wooden flumes and conduits wall be 
but little used. The flood and sluice gates will be of iron. Pumps for - 
lifting Avater w-ill be installed in certain localities. In the south of f 
the island, w^here fuel is extremely scarce, the water power will be 
used to generate about 10,000 horsepower of electricity. 



i| 



GOVEENMENT KECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 73 

INDIA. 
GENERAL STATEMENT. 

The irrigation works of India may be divided into three main 
classes — canals, tanks, wells. Under canals are classed works of any 
considerable size for diverting the waters of streams and distributing 
them over the land; under tanks all works for the storage of water 
and all natural depressions the water of which is used for irrigation; 
and under wells are comprised works providing access to the sub- 
terranean water supply. 

In the case of large tanks and canals, works are required which it 
is beyond the means of individuals or village communities to con- 
struct, maintain, or operate, and these are therefore constructed by 
the Government, the necessary investigations being made by the 
public works department. All irrigation works may therefore be 
further classified as " public works " and " private works." 

xVlthough the statistics published by the irrigation branch show 
that more than half of the irrigated area in India is irrigated from 
private sources, yet during the last thirty-five years all irrigation 
jDrojects of any importance have been planned, constructed, and 
maintained by the Government. These public works never pass out 
of government control. The Government assumes all risks, receives 
whatever profits may accrue, and has complete control over all public 
sources of water supply. 

Public works consist of two main classes — those of which the capi- 
tal outla}^ has been provided out of revenue, which are called " minor 
works," and those the capital for which has been raised as a govern- 
ment loan, which are called " major works." Both are included 
under the head of " productive works." There is also a third class 
of works classed as '' protective," for the. reason that they are included 
in the works designed to protect the districts subject to drought from 
crop failure or famine. (Railways built with this object are also 
classed as protective works.) The funds for the construction of these 
protective works are supplied from the annual appropriation made 
for the famine fund. 

Major productive works are provincial — that is, included in the 
budget of the province — in Bengal and the United Provinces; in all 
other parts of India - they are imperial. All protective works are 
imperial. Minor works are provincial in Bengal, the United Prov- 
inces, Madras, and Burma; in all other provinces the}^ are imperial. 
The Punjab provincial works have been constructed in recent years 
out of provincial revenues, and the Godak Canal in the Bombay 
Presidency is classed as imperial. 

With respect to public works in general, the government of India 
has power to sanction their construction up to a maximum limit of 
$335,000, exclusive of charges for establishment. Local governments 
sanction up to the same limit works which are chargeable to provin- 
cial funds, but in respect of imperial works their powers of sanction 
are limited as follows : 

Government of Bombay $67,000 

Government of Madras i 65,000 

Other provincial governments 17,000 

Local administrations 7, 000 



74 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

These general powers of sanction may of course, with respect to 
irrigation projects, be applied to minor works only. 

Regarding the funding of irrigation projects, these may be classed 
as follows : (1) Major productive works, carried out from funds bor- 
rowed by the Imperial Government, the return being got by water 
rates on the area irrigated; (2) minor canal and navigation works, 
the capital outlay of which is provided out of the imperial or provin- 
cial revenues, the return being got as in the case of major works; 
(3) protective irrigation works, for which the capital outlay is pro- 
vided out of the Indian famine fund. The returns are got in the 
same way as in the former cases, but protective works are not expected 
to be directly financially remunerative. 

In Bengal, where there is a fixed land-revenue assessment, the 
funds for construction are usually advanced at moderate rates of 
interest, ranging from 3| to 5 per cent, the principal being repayable 
in periods of from fifteen to thirty j^ears. Where there is no fixed 
system of land revenue, the Government in some cases carries out 
improvement works free of charge, in order to avoid remissions of 
land tax, or a rate may be authorized to cover interest charges. 

Irrigation works in general are planned and constructed by the 
irrigation branch of the public works department as above explained. 
In a few cases collectors of districts have projected irrigation works 
and caused the same to be constructed out of district funds, in which 
case the works have remained in charge of the district. 

Works constructed wholly or partly by the Government are man- 
aged and controlled by the Government in perpetuity. 

Throughout India the basis for charges for water supplied by 
government works for irrigation is the area irrigated; but different 
systems of charging are in operation in different parts of the country. 
In Bengal, the United Provinces, the greater part of the Punjab, 
and on all the newer works in Bombay (excluding Sind), a water 
rate, varying with the kind of crop grown, is charged per acre watered, 
apart from the land-revenue assessment. This is knoAvn as the occu- 
pier's rate; it is paid by him in return for the water supplied and 
forms part of his expenses of cultivation. It is for many reasons 
impossible to fix this rate so high as to leave the occupier no larger 
margin of profit than would suffice to induce him to take water, and 
therefore the introduction of irrigation is generally accompanied by 
an enhancement of rents. 

In the provinces whose revenue is not fixed a share of this increased 
rent is taken by the Government at the periods of revision either in 
the ordinary way or by the imposition of an owner's rate, which, 
although payable by the owner, is, like the occupier's rate, levied on 
the area actually irrigated during the year. 

In provinces such as Bengal, where the land tax is fixed, it is not 
permitted to increase it on account of the advantages accruing from 
the construction of new irrigation works; and as the occupier pays 
the water rate the owner reaps all the benefit of levying an increased 
rental, without bearing any of the burden thrown on the taxpayer 
by the construction of the works. 

In Sind, where there is but little cultivated land that is not irri- 
gated, the charges for Avater do not take the form of an occupier's 
rate, but are included in the land-revenue assessment. In this prov- 



INDIA. 75 

ince the land revenue is fluctuating, and is levied only on the lands 
actually cultivated during the year. 

Nine-tenths of the assessments on irrigated lands are regarded as 
due to the works, and are credited to them in the accounts of the 
province as irrigation revenue. It is therefore practically a water 
rate, varying with the area actually irrigated and the crop sown, 
although taken in the form of land revenue. 

In Madras separate water rates are charged on dry lands Avatered 
by newh^ constructed works or extensions before the area of irriga- 
tion has become established, and in a few other special cases. But 
in general the irrigation charge is consolidated in the land-revenue 
assessment. 

In Bombay, also, on the older works of the presidency proper the 
charge is consolidated. The settlement officer in JNIadras and Bom- 
bay takes into account all the circumstances of each survey field, the 
productiveness of the soil, its proximity to market, etc., and he may 
fix his assessment as high as $4.50 or as low as $0.81 per acre on fields 
which have enjoyed the same amount of irrigation. 

There is one defect common to all those systems, in that no induce- 
ment is offered to the cultivator to economize water and to see that 
it is not wasted between the government channel and the field. 

As far as irrigation and drainage works are concerned, the Gov- 
ernment as a general rule supplies all the funds, takes all the risks, 
and receives all the revenue. In the case of guaranteed railways the 
Government shares expenditure, profit, and loss with the companies, 
an entirel}^ different S3^stem from that of irrigation. 

The deltaic embankments on the Irrawaddy in Burma are cases in 
which the Government executes and maintains the works and receives 
all the revenue. 

The drainage works on the Sirhind and Bari Doab canals, Punjab, 
are cases in which the Government bears all costs and receives no 
direct return. 

The Magrahat drainage project in the Pergunna district, Bengal, 
is a case in which the Government advances funds on certain interest 
and repayment terms. 

The Government does not grant concessions for land reclamation 
hj private parties b}^ irrigation or drainage for the simple reason 
that it is not politic to leave the cultivators at the mercy of middle- 
men from whom they would receive less liberal terms than from the 
Government. 

In the case of the great irrigation colonies in the Punjab, the Gov- 
ernment, when introducing irrigation, allotted the waste lands in 
small areas free of charge to peasant cultivators, and to capitalists 
and others in much larger areas on payment of certain prices, and 
each class has to pay the land revenue and water rates. The peasants 
are required to remain in the village in which their grant is located. 

PRIVATE IRRIGATION WORKS. 

As alread}^ stated, more than half of the irrigated area in India 
is in the hands of private individuals, and there are vast tracts of 
country which, were it not for private irrigation, could not be pro- 
tected against the effects of drought. 



76 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

Private works consist of canals, tanks, wells, and " other sources," 
under which term are included chiefly small channels for taking out 
water from rivers and streams; these last are frequently provided 
with weirs of an inexpensive and temporary character. In the only 
instances in which works of any size have been constructed by private 
companies they have proved conspicuous failures. Individual owners 
are seldom able to provide the capital or skilled direction required 
for such large works. 

In order to stimulate and assist private irrigation improvements, 
advances are made by the Government to the land-owning and land- 
cultivating classes. This system is known as " takhavi " and has 
existed in India from time immemorial, and is now regulated by 
special laws, namely, the land improvement loans act and the agri- 
culturists' act for the whole of India, and by rules under these acts 
framed for each province by the local governments and sanctioned 
by the government of India. 

Under the former act, money is advanced for specific purposes and 
under the latter for seed, cattle, and other miscellaneous agricultural 
requirements. 

The rate of interest charged for these loans is 6J per cent for all 
classes of improvements except in Madras and Bombay, where the 
charge has been reduced to 5 per cent. The Imperial Government 
advances the money for these loans to the provincial government at 
4 per cent. 

AVhen a loan is desired by the Indian farmer for improA^ements 
upon his land, application is made to the local collector.'^ The appli- 
cant is required to state exactly what he proposes to do with the 
money and to show that it will be productive and to specify the sum 
he purposes to lay out upon the work from his own resources. The 
security offered must be either that of the land or a tenant right, 
though in some cases personal security is accepted. 

If after a thorough examination of the property the collector is 
satisfied of its necessity and desirability, the loan is made. 

" Improvements " are defined to include " any work which adds to 
the letting value of land," and it is to be noted that in the indication 
of these the first place is given to " wells, tanks, and other works for 
the storage supply and distribution of water." Then comes " the 
preparation of land for irrigation," and next its " drainage, recla- 
mation, protection from floods or erosion ; " and then is placed the 
renewal or reconstruction of the foregoing; and, in conclusion, the 
word is made to embrace all other works which the local govern- 
ments, with the sanction of the governor in council, may declare 
therein included. 

The period of repayments is fixed by the collector of the district, 
except in Madras, where the period for wells is fixed at 30 years; 
in no province may this official fix a period longer than 20 years, 
Avhile in Bengal his discretion is limited to 10, and in the central 
provinces and United Provinces to 15 years. In the Punjab the 
fixing of a period longer than 20 years requires the sanction of the 
government of India, and is only granted in exceptional circum- 

" Colloctor : This is the title of the expcutivo officor at the head of each district in 
India, the districts forming? the units of administration. He has entire control of the 
district and is responsible to the lieutenant-governor of the province. 



INDIA. 77 

stances. The farmer may borrow from the Government up to 75 per 
cent of the vahie of his land in order to carr}^ out agricultural im- 
provements thereon. 

From the report of the irrigation branch of the public works de- 
partment for 1905-6 the following information is taken : 

During: the last 50 years — that is, since 1S58, when the present form of gov- 
ernment for India was established — the area irrigated by the government has 
increased from a little over 3,500,000 acres to 22,998,435 acres in 1906. This 
area comprises 15,162,440 acres irrigated by major works, returning a gross 
revenue of $16,440,442, and 7,835,995 acres irrigated by minor works, return- 
ing a gross revenue of $7,079,599. The irrigation works paid 7.04 per cent in 
1905-6 on their capital outlay. Thirteen of the major works yielded a return 
of 1.53 per cent only, but this was more than counterbalanced by the revenues 
from the other 28 works. The highest returns were obtained from the follow- 
ing canals: 

Per cent. 

Western Jumna Canal Net revenue— 9. 62 

Upper Bari Boab Canal Net revenue.- 11. 29 

Lower Chenab Canal Net revenue-- 20. 79 

Eastern Jumna Canal Net revenue— 18.53 

Ganges Canal Net revenue 7.99 

Cauvery Delta Net revenue 24.82 

Godavari Delta Net revenue.. 19. 75 

The most important irrigation works in India are: 

The Ganges Canal, which was completed in 1854 and has cost $10,828,752. 
It comprises 520 miles of main canal and 2,945 miles of distributaries. Dur- 
ing the year 1905-6 it supplied water to 1,369,393 acres. The Sirhind canal 
in the Punjab, which has cost $12,948,975 and consists of 538 miles of main 
canal and 4,606 miles of distributaries. In Madras the Godavari, Kistna, and 
Cauvery systems, which irrigate together 2,568,131 acres. 

At tJie irrigation conference held in Simla in 1904 it was officially 
stated that the area under government irrigation in the year 1902-3 
was 19,801,273 acres, representing an annual increase of about 347,000 
acres since the year 1869, when the present system of irrigation ad- 
ministration was established. During the three following years 
3,065,730 acres have been added to the government area, representing 
an annual increase of over 1,000,000 acres. 

The published returns of the department of revenue and agricul- 
ture for 1905-6 show that the net area of India, exclusive of feuda- 
tory and tributary states, but inclusive of Upper and Lower Burma 
and Assam, was 557,236,906 acres. Of this total area 207,683,741 
acres were under cultivation and yielding crops. The area of govern- 
ment irrigation was nearly 23,000,000 acres; that under private irri- 
gation is estimated at over 26,000,000 acres ; so that we have in India 
a total acreage of about 50.000,000 acres under irrigation, or very 
nearly one-fourth of the entire cultivated area of the Indian Empire. 

BHANDARDARA PROJECT. 

The secretary of state for India has sanctioned an estimate of 
$2,805,000, the anticipated cost of the Pravara River protective irri- 
gation work in the Ahmednagar district of the Bombay presidency. 
This will be the second of the great ghat-fed irrigation works de- 
signed to protect the wide Deccan tracts where drought is such a 
frequent infliction. The first project in the general scheme of pro- 
tection against drought and famine has already been commenced; 
this is known as the Dama project and will tap the headwaters of 
77331—09 6 . 



78 GOVEBNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

the Godavari River, and include large storage works at the top of 
the Western Ghats in the neighborhood of Lanovla, and tAvo long 
canals, which will serve 240,000 acres, chiefly in the Nasick district, 
and cost $2,855,000. 

For the project now sanctioned water is to be taken out of the 
Pravara, a tributary of the Godavari. This great construction work 
will provide for a reservoir at Bhandardara, where a masonry dam 
250 feet high will be built in a remarkable gorge of hard rock, and 
a storage of 8,800,000,000 cubic feet of water (202,020 acre-feet) 
obtained. The catchment area from which the water will be derived 
is only 47 square miles in extent^ but it is the area of the heaviest 
rainfall of the Ghats. The impounded Avater will be distributed by 
canals 34 and 44 miles long, utilizing works now serving the Ojhar 
canals and embankments throAvn up during the last famine. The 
total area commanded is 228,720 acres, of Avhich 182,976 are cultivable. 

It is anticipated that this scheme will, Avhen in full Avorking order, 
return a little less than 4 per cent upon the capital outlay. Conse- 
quently, although not classed among the productiA^e works, it is one 
of the most promising of its class in the Bombay presidency. The 
gOA^ernment intends to take up graduall}^ the Avhole chain of works, 
Avhich extends as far south as those chronic famine areas, Sholapur 
and Bhizapur. When this is completed famine in its acute form Avill 
be impossible in the Deccan. 

NATIVE METHOD OF IRRIGATION. 

Any notice concerning irrigation in India would be very incom- 
plete that did not take into some account those ancient methods of 
applying water to the soil which have persisted from the earliest 
periods of artificial irrigation in all arid and tropical countries Avhere 
it has been practised, and are at this day in use in India over an 
area even greater than that which is served by the government Avorks 
themselves. These ancient operations are, as far as the individual 
farmer is concerned, so many different methods of lifting water from 
a Avell, a canal, or a tank, and applying it to the little plot of ground 
from which he expects to obtain sustenance for himself and his 
family. Of these methods the commonest is the Avell. 

WELL IRRIGATION. 

This method consists simply in sinking a Avell to the depth required, 
and rigging at the top two standards of logs from 4 to 6 feet high, 
with a crossbeam, to Avhich are fastened two pulleys. Over these pul- 
leys are rigged ropes attached to a leather bag that will hold about 30 
gallons of Avater. This bag has tAvo openings, one much larger than 
the other, the larger one being intended to receive the Avater and the 
other, Avhich forms the end of the tail of the bag, to discharge it. 
One of the ropes is fastened to each end of the bag. The bag is 
lowered into the well, and when filled with Avater is pulled up by a 
span of bullocks, the ropes being attached to the center of the yoke. 
The top of the Avell is 8 to 10 feet above the level of the surrounding 
land, so that the bullocks pull down hill. A'Mien the bag reaches the 
top of the Avell a man stationed there secures it with a rude con- 



INDIA. 79 

trivance and loosens the tail rope so that the water runs into a sluice 
which conducts to the irrigating ditch. Water thus obtained is some- 
times carried three-quarters of a mile, the distance depending largely 
upon the incline of the land. 

The wells vary considerably both in depth and in diameter. 
AVater is sometimes found in abundance 20 feet below^ the surface, 
but not infrequently it is necessary to go down 400 feet. Sometimes 
the supply depends on seepage, and again veins of water with a 
strong and unceasing flow are struck. The native method of sinking 
a well is interesting. When the hole is about 6 feet deep a basket 
lining made of strong, pliable limbs of trees from 12 to 18 inches in 
thickness is sunk to the depth of the excavation. Resting on the top 
of this lining is built a circular tube of sandstone. This tube, which 
is to form the masonry lining of the well, is frequently as much as 
40 feet in height and is smoothly finished inside and out. As the 
excavation of the well proceeds the weight of the masonry forces the 
wooden lining lower and lower, and this process continues until 
water in sufficient supply is reached. The masonry tube is then, if 
necessary, added to until it attains the height above ground required 
for the incline for the oxen and the settling as the wooden founda- 
tion rots and gives way, the excavated earth forming the inclined 
path along which the bullocks walk while operating the water lift. 

Very little money is spent on such a well. There are many hands 
in the village willing to do such work. Men and w^omen alike exca- 
vate the well, quarry, shape, and haul the stone and cut the timber. 
If any iron work is needed a few rupees will purchase the material, 
and it is shaped for use at the village smithy. Thus the well is con- 
structed and prepared for operating without the expenditure of any 
money worth mentioning. It has been suggested that American 
windmills should find a ready market among the Indian ryots, but 
the small amount of money that would be needed for the erection of 
such a windmill would be quite beyond the financial ability of the 
village community, and moreover the average Indian cultivator pos- 
sesses so little comprehension of modern machinery that both pump 
and windmill would soon be hopelessly out of order. 

Among other methods of lifting water in use among the Indian 
peasantry may be mentioned the Persian wheel, which corresponds 
to the sakiyeh of the Egyptian Delta, and is an endless band of 
leathern buckets operating round a couple of wheels or drums, the 
lower of which is partially sunk below the level of the w^ater in the 
canal or tank. As the buckets pass over the top of the upper wheel 
they empty their contents into a trough, which conveys the water to 
the sluice or ditch. 

In India may also be seen a contrivance closely resembling the 
Egyptian shacluf, wherein the leathern bag or bucket is attached to 
the thin end of a long pole balanced between two uprights. This is 
operated usually by one man, w^ho dips the bag into the water and 
then swings the pole sharply round and tilts the water into the 
receptacle that is to convey it to the field; also the basket scoop, 
operated by two men, and very similar to the Egyptian natali; the 
doon or oscillating trough and other devices of a rude sort, but 
adapted to the nature and customs of the native races, and all of them 
doubtless of great antiquity. 



80 GOVEENMENT KECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF THE IRRIGATION BRANCH OF THE PUBLIC 
WORKS DEPARTMENT OF THE UNITED PROVINCES FOR 1905-6. 

The following particulars from the report will be found of interest 
as exhibiting the operations and status of the government system of 
irrigation in an Indian province: 

The total capital outlay during the year amounted to $1,058,300, of which 
$658,300 were expended on protective works, $325,600 on major productive 
works, and $74,400 on minor works. This was 35 per cent more than in the 
previous year. 

During the year 156 miles of new channels were constructed, thus bringing 
the total of all channels up to 13,709 miles. 

The gross receipts of the year amounted to nearly $3,000,000, or $500,000 
less than in the previous year, the falling off being due to the poor assessment 
of the rabi ^ crop of the previous year, which was collected during the year 
under report. 

Working expenses amounted to $1,185,000, and the net profit, after deducting 
the interest charges for the year (nearly $560,000), amounted to approxi- 
mately $625,000. The percentage of return on total capital outlay varied from 
18.53 per cent for the Eastern Jumna Canal to 0.72 per cent for the Fatehpur 
Branch of the Lower Ganges Canal. The Upper Ganges Canal (oldest and 
largest in the province) returned 7.95 per cent; the Agra Canal returned 2.02 
per cent. The returns from the only protective canal in the province earning 
revenue showed a loss of about $47,000 on the year's working. The net revenue 
for the year fell below the amount guaranteed to the provincial government 
by the Government of India by about $172,000. 

The area irrigated, 3,523,439 acres, was the largest ever recorded in the 
province, the extraordinary demand for water being due to the failure of the 
monsoon and early winter rains. 

^ STATISTICS. 

The following extract from the statement of the canals and reser- 
voirs for the year is of interest. The Ganges Canal and Agra Canal 
are selected for quotation : 

Statistics of Ganges and Agra canals. 



Ganges 
Canal. 



Agra 
Canal. 



Source of supply of water 

Minimum, discharge of river ever recorded cusecs. . 

Minimum discharge during the year do 

Maximum discharge of canal do 

Normal annual rainfall inches. . 

Area irrigable by complete project acres.. 

Area irrigable at present do 

Gross area commanded do 

Culturable area do — 



Ganges. 

4,427 

4,661 

8,073 

29.6 

1,212,600 

1, 282, 500 

4,466,700 

3 363,200 



Jumna and 

Hindan. 

132 

273 

1,656 

20.5 

356,500 

376, 000 

975, 200 

921, 900 



" The crops grown in India, exclusive of sugar cane, which is in a class by itself, are 
included for statistical and other purposes in two classes, kharif and rabi. Under 
" kharif " are included rice, maize, millet, and also indigo and cotton ; under " rabi " 
come the food grains, such as wheat, barley, gram, peas, and also the poppy. The irriga- 
tion season for kharif ci-ops is from April to September ; for rabi crops, from October to 
March. This double-crop system, which prevails throughout irrigated India, is largely 
accountable for the high i-eturns from many of the irrigated districts. 



INDIA. 81 

Statistics of JJidnsi Lakes Reservoir and Hamipur Lakes Reservoir, 1905-6. 



Source of supply of water 

Catchment area square miles.. 

Normal annual rainfall inches. . 

Contents of tank between levels of surface of full supply and sill of canal- 
head sluices .'.million cubic feet. . 

Area of surface at full supply acres. . 

Gross area commanded do 

Culturable area do 

Area irritable by complete project do 

Area irrigable at present do — 



Jhtmsi. 


Ilamirpur. 


Rainfall. 


Rainfall. 


24. 5 


45 


28.4 


49 


743 


927 


2,593 


3,593 


5,700 


4,000 


4,500 


3,000 


4, 500 


2,900 


2,500 


3,300 



Total expenditure on both tanks, 82,398 rupees ($27,466). 



The comparative statement of irrigation and rainfall for 1904-5 



furnishes the following statistics: 



Irrigated area. 

Acres. 

Total area of the civil district of the united provinces 28, 445, 717 

Cnltiirable area 7, 693, 967 

Cultivated area L 16,709,210 

Culturable area commanded by the irrigation works 10, 499, 500 

Area actually irrigable by said works 3,907,500 

Area actually irrigated by said works 3, 523, 439 

Rainfall. 



Upper Ganges Canal 

Agra Canal 

Upper Ganges Canal 

Diin canals 

Betwa Canal (protective 

In Jhdnsi 

In Hamirpur 

In Jalaun 



1904-5. 



1905-6. 



Inches. 


Inches. 


37.88 


22. 78 


24.23 


13.59 


39.11 


9.48 


90.09 


50.35 


38.50 


9.50 


37.70 


16.30 


40.11 


8.78 



Extract from the statement of occupiers' rates in force for the year 1905-6. 



Per acre irrigated. 



Ganges 
Canal. 



Agra 
Canal. 



I. Sugar cane, per year 

II. Orchards and gardens, per half year 

Tobacco, poppy, all rabi crops except linseed and peas, per crop. . . 

III. Linseed, peas, all kharif crops except those noted in II, per crop 




$2.22 
1.33 
1.33 



The value of the crops raised during the year by the aid of canal 
water was 13^ crores of rupees, or about $44,166,000. 



82 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

EXTRACT FROM THE ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE IRRIGATION BRANCH 
OF THE UNITED PROVINCES FOR THE YEAR 1906-7. 

Expenditure. — The capital expenditure amounted to nearly 38 lakhs (about 
$1,254,000), of which the protective works in Bundelkhand absorbed about 251 
lakhs ($840,000), works on major canals nearly 11 lakhs ($363,000), and minor 
v/orks li lakhs (about $50,000). 

Mileage of ehannels. — The total length of channels now in operation is 13,927 
miles, an increase of 218 miles as compared with the previous j-ear. In addi- 
tion, 196 miles of the Ken Canal (protective) were completed during the year, 
but were not open for irrigation when the report was issued. 

Area irrigaied. — The area of irrigation fell to 2,588,457 acres, the rainfall 
during the monsoon being sufficient for sowing over a large part of the district 
and good winter rains completed the season. The value of crops raised by 
canal water was estimated at 10,40,45,144 rupees ($34,681,710), being an average 
of $13.4 per acre irrigated. 

Revenue. — Protective works. The result of the year's working presented a 
profit of 1,48,544 rupees ($49,510), which represents a profit of 2.44 per cent on 
the capital outlay, which is by far the best result yet obtained, the operations 
of previous years having resulted in loss. After deducting the interest on the 
capital, the deficit for the year is only 39,758 rupees ($13,252). 

Productive works. — These brought in a gross revenue of nearly 120 lakhs 
(^4,000,000), the highest figure on record, being an increase of over 42 per cent 
upon the figures for the previous year. After deductions, the net revenue repre- 
sented a return of over 9^ per cent on the capital outlay. 

Protective and famine icorlcs. — There are four protective works in the United 
Provinces, the Betwa Canal, in operation ; the Dhukwan Weir, under construc- 
tion ; the Ken Canal, just completed, and the Dhassan Canal, under construction. 

The capital outlay on these works has been 1,01,90,249 rupees ($3,396,749) 
up to date. The average percentage of net revenue to capital has been 1.46. 

Famine relief and insurance. — The expense of construction work carried out 
under this head has been met from different funds, imperial and provincial, 
the imperial contribution up to the end of 1907 having been : Ordinary, 2,04,350 
rupees ; famine relief and insurance, 58,55,261 rupees ; and the provincial, 32,974 
rupees, making a total of 60,90,585 rupees, or $2,030,198. 

The Betwa Canal commands a gross area of 1,155,000 acres, with a culturable 
area of 982,400 acres; the mileage of channels as sanctioned in the original 
project is 597 ; of these all but 1 mile of a distributary channel were completed 
imd in oi^eration at the end of the year 1906-7. The other works are still under 
construction, with the exception of the Ken Canal, which only opened in 1907 
and has not yet been reported upon. 

Under this head the following extract from a report by the consul-general at 
Calcutta, under date March 26, 1908, is noteworthy. He writes, inter alia : 

" Irrigation in its various forms saves India from being a charnel house in 
this year of grace 1908. But for irrigation * * * the horrors of the situa- 
tion in India this year could not be adequately told. As it is, the people are 
keeping together, are able to live by economy, and to feed their stock. * * * 
The Government is supplementing the efforts of the people to live by direct 
relief, by test and public works ; that is, by creating work on railroads, telegraph 
lines, canal repairs, and many other ways. It may be truthfully said that the 
millions in India were never in as good condition to fight off famine as now. 
There will be suffering and starvation in remote parts, but on the whole the 
British-India Government and the people are to be congratulated on the results 
of the vast endeavor to ward off famine." 

RECLAMATION OF WASTE LAND THROUGH IRRIGATION. 

During the last twenty years the Indian government has sanc- 
tioned the construction of several irrigation projects, the intention of 
which is to redeem by irrigation large areas of waste land and plant 
colonists upon the areas thus rendered available for cultivation. The 
general results of these schemes have been favorable, and large ex- 
tensions of the system are under consideration. There are millions 
of acres in India at present unproductive, but commanded by water 



JAVA. 83 

courses whose flow is only partially utilized; and it is the design 
of the imperial government to ultimately bring all of these areas 
under cultivation. It is expected that this plan, if carried out, will 
hu'gely reduce the congestion in some of the famine districts. 

The largest of these colonization systems at present in opera- 
tion is the Chenab system, by which a large area of waste land, com- 
manded by the Chenab, has been settled by thriving colonies. The 
government built good roads through the settlements and connected 
the center of the system — the new town of Lyallpur, named after a 
former lieutenant-governor of the Punjab — by rail with the main 
line of railway. All the settlements in this s^^steni are thriving. 

The waters of the Jhelum liaA^e been utilized in a similar manner, 
and the results of this scheme are equally satisfactory. In western 
Punjab a vast project, commanding over 2,000,000 acres, is being 
carried out along the same lines; and yet another contemplates the 
utilization of the waters of the Sutlej to irrigate the lands on its 
left bank. The success of the projects already in operation is some 
warrant for expecting similar results from those as yet under con- 
struction. 

JAVA. 

The social and political system whereby Java was administered 
since the 3^ear 1832, which is called the " culture system," w^as based 
in principle upon the officially directed labor of the natives. This 
'' culture system " depending for its successful operation upon govern- 
ment ownership of land, the soil of Java was claimed as government 
property, and all work carried out in connection with land improve- 
ment or reclamation in general Avas consequently government work. 
In the western part of the island a considerable acreage has passed, 
during the last twenty years, into foreign, chiefly European, owner- 
ship, the increase being from 1,000,000 acres in 1890 to over 10,000,- 
000 acres at the present clay, and the Government has also during 
that period relaxed in some measure the severity of the laws govern- 
ing native labor ; the compulsory one day in seven formerly exacted 
from all natives being now remitted in return for a yearly poll tax 
of 1 guilder; and a law passed in 1870, which afforded opportunity 
to private energy for obtaining waste lands on hereditary lease, 
emphyteutic tenure has given considerable impetus to private. agri- 
culture. The extent of this impetus may be gauged from the follow- 
ing figures : In 1890 the area of the government land was about 22,- 
000,000 acres, and that on emphyteusis or other form of tenure about 
one-half that amount; in 1905 the government area amounted to 
17,000.000 acres, while the emphyteutic and leased lands approached 
50,000,000 acres; in addition to which there were nearly 10,000,000 
acres of private lands under cultivation on the western side of the 
island. 

In consequence of this " culture system," which, though no longer 
enforced in the letter, survives in the spirit, all irrigation or drainage 
work is in the hands of the government and is administered by the 
department of public works. Xo subsidy or concession of any kind 
in respect of irrigation enterprises is made to any individuals or 
corporations. 

All irrigation and drainage works in Java are planned, constructed, 
and maintained bv the Government. If the actual construction work 



84 GOVERKMENT EECLAMATTON WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

is not undertaken by the public works department, it is let out on 
contract and executed under the supervision and control of the gov- 
ernment engineers. The recommendation of a local municipal board 
to the public works department is the initial step toward obtaining 
government assistance with regard to the irrigation of an}^ district. 
The capital outlay is not, as a rule, recoverable, but in some cases a 
direct return is secured through charges made for the use of the water 
supplied. In general, however, the returns are secured through an 
occupier's or cultivator's rental, such charges being scaled according 
to the value of the crop raised, and assessed as a land tax. The gov- 
ernment lands thus provided with water are leased to private in- 
dividuals according to a system of allotment which limits the area 
assignable to each applicant in proportion to his financial standing, 
some farmers thus obtaining large areas, others much less; there is, 
however, no law limiting the amount of land which one person may 
acquire in this manner, nor is there any law appljdng to the domicile 
of the applicant ; but the Government does not grant leases to private 
corporations. 

Examples of the service which irrigation and drainage work may 
perform in protecting property against damage from inundation can 
be found within the limits of the three principal cities of Java — 
Batavia, Samarang, and Soerabaya. These are traversed by a net- 
work of canals, which relieve the rivers in the rainy season and 
reduce the danger of inundation to a minimum. 

The latest official report available gives the area under irrigation 
on December 31, 1904, as 7,188,140 acres. But little additional area 
has been included since that date, the work of the department in 
respect of irrigation and drainage having been chiefly confined to the 
maintenance and operation of the works already in operation. 

SIAM. 

The Siamese Government has recently established an irrigation 
branch of the department of public works, for the purpose of bring- 
ing under direct and more efficient control various irrigation districts 
in the country, more especially in the southern region ; but this branch 
of the service is still in a formative state, and no official details as to 
its operation or plans are yet obtainable. 

In the hill region in the north some irrigation systems limited in 
extent and of an antiquated type still exist. As these deteriorate and 
their restoration or repair becomes necessary, the requisite funds are 
raised by the farmers in the district whose interests are affected by 
the works; the construction or repair work is carried out under the 
supervision of the headman of the nearest village, and the National 
Government is not in any way concerned in the matter. 

In the plains of lower Siam are numerous canals, constructed pri- 
marily as navigable waterways, but also in many cases serving as 
protective conduits against overflow and inundation. These have 
been lately placed in the charge of the newly established irrigation 
department. 

For a considerable number of years landholders along the banks 
of these government canals have made a practice of constructing dis- 



SIAM — AUSTRALIA. 85 

tributary canals for their own use, the water being taken out of the 
government canals. The sole object of these operations has been the 
enhancement of the value of the riparian holdings, and the Govern- 
ment has lent no financial or other aid to the projects. 

The only important work carried out of late years has been the 
construction and oj^eration of the Bangsit Canal and its distribu- 
taries, a concession having been obtained from the Government per- 
mitting the construction of an irrigation system in a district consist- 
ing chiefly of waste or uncultivated land and covering about 600,000 
acres. In consideration of the construction of the canals and the rest 
of the system, the company, whose interest in the project is limited 
under the concession to twenty-five years, acquired a free grant of a 
mile strip of land on both sides of the canal and its distributaries. 

Radiating from the main canal are numerous smaller ones, usually 
about 2 miles apart at the places of origin. The total length of these 
distributaries is about 500 miles, and they serve about 435,000 acres 
of what was formerly a barren district but is now under cultivation 
in rice. 

The main Bangsit Canal has a bottom width of about 30 feet, that of 
the laterals is about 16| feet, the slope in both cases being 45 degrees. 
After the land acquired by the company in consideration of con- 
structing the canal had been disposed of, its diligence in respect of 
the maintenance of the system slackened considerably, and the negli- 
gence therein displayed has been the cause of numerous disputes be- 
tween the company and the Government, arising out of complaints 
on the i^art of persons who have purchased land from the irrigation 
company. The main canal, which also serves as the navigable chan- 
nel of the district, is kept in fairly good condition, and the tolls 
received at the locks from the different vessels that pass through are 
a source of great revenue to the company, whose enterprise has 
altogether been more than ordinarily financially successful, immense 
sums having been realized from the sale of the lands bordering on 
their canals. 

This concession of land in return for construction work is the 
nearest approach yet made by the Siamese government toward foster- 
ing the reclamation of the waste lands of the country, but the question 
of extending government aid to private parties desirous of ameliorat- 
ing the soil conditions by means of irrigation, drainage, or otherwise 
has lately been occupying the attention of the authorities, and prob- 
abh^ will be dealt with before long by the irrigation branch of the 
public works department. 

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. 

Under the provisions of the water act, 1905, which superseded all 
previous enactments defining the participation of the government in 
the reclamation of land by means of the storage and distribution of 
water, all state works of water supply in Victoria are constructed by 
the board of land and works, and these are upon completion vested 
in the state rivers and water supply commission which, according to 
the aforesaid act, has, in addition to other powers and duties, the 
control and management of the works, irrigation, and water supply 
districts, and the property of the waterw^orks trust. 



86 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

Of the works existing prior to the passing of the act of 1905, as 
well as of those thereafter to be constructed, some are declared to be 
free head works, in respect of which no charge is made either for in- 
terest or maintenance on the districts supplied therefrom. As regards 
all other works, the proportion of interest, maintenance, etc., properly 
debitable to each district is recoverable by means of rates which the 
commission has the power of levying upon the owners or occupiers 
of the land benefited thereby. 

The commission is required, out of funds legally available, to carry 
out surveys to ascertain the water supply and storage resources of 
the state, and to determine the means and cost of developing such 
resources and of improving and extending works for the conveyance 
and distribution of water, and to determine the areas capable of being 
profitably supplied with water. 

Leases of crown lands may be granted as sites for the erection of 
j)umping machinery, and licenses may be issued to any persons or 
corporation to divert water from any river, creek, stream, etc., or to 
conserve or supply water, to supply water power, or for any other 
purpose. The minimum rent charge for any pump site is £2 ($9.70) 
per annum. The charge for a license to divert, etc., water is usually 
based on the benefit to be derived therefrom by the licensee. 

The governor in council, by advice of the minister of water supply, 
may create new irrigation districts, and these, after creation, are 
vested in the commission. 

The department of Victorian water supply, the responsible head 
being the chief engineer of water supply, plans and constructs all 
state works of water supply for the board of land and works. 

There is no law in Victoria limiting the aid w^hich the Government 
may extend to municipalities, districts, or corporations with respect 
to irrigation or land reclamation in general, but in practice govern- 
ment participation takes one of two forms: Either (1) a money 
grant — this for the financial year ending June 30, 1907, w^as $364,987 — 
which is divided among the shires and boroughs entitled to share in 
the appropriation upon a classification basis proportional in every 
case to the local rate levy; or (2) a special grant, either to aid in 
the opening up or development of a new district or in improving 
communications in sparsely settled localities, or in assisting repairs 
to municipal works which have suffered damage from unpreventable 
causes, such as fire, flood, etc. These grants are invariably free and 
nonrecoverable, but are frequently made subject to conditions bind- 
ing the municipality interested to contribute some portion of the cost 
of the works. 

The planning and the direction of the execution of the works is 
in the hands of the municipalities concerned, subject to the approval 
of the municipal proposals and designs by the department of public 
works and commission of water supply. There are no particular con- 
ditions to which such proposals and designs must conform ; municipal 
engineers must, under the Victorian local government act, possess 
certificates of competency, and so long as the proposals and designs 
are in agreement with correct engineering principles and reasonable 
considerations of economy, of which the department above referred to 
is the judge, alterations are very rarely requested. 



AUSTRALIA. 87 

LAND RECLAMATION. 

The reclamation of swamp or morass land in the State of Victoria 
ma}^ be said to be conducted entirel}^ on national as distinguished 
from municipal lines. In such works as the reclamation of Koo- 
Avee-rup Swamp, 54,000 acres; Condah Swamp, 9,000 acres; and Noe 
Swamp, 11,000 acres, besides many others of less importance, it may 
be pointed out that these areas were crown morass lands which the 
Government thought it advisable to prepare for settlement purposes. 
The works were therefore carried out by the public works depart- 
ment with national funds, which are still being gradually refunded 
by sale of the government land at enhanced prices as well as in- 
directly b}^ the increased settlement of the districts. On free head 
works such as the above, the State had expended up to June 30, 1906, 
about $5,650,000; on other state works, excluding the waterworks 
districts and the waterworks trust, but including most of the state 
contribution to municipal irrigation and water supply enterprises, 
the sum of (about) $1,200,000 had been expended. 

There are no instances of municipalities having carried out recla- 
mation work with government assistance; nor has any government 
concession ever been gTanted for the purpose of reclaiming lands 
by drainage; this is undertaken as a state work, and the cost of the 
same is as far as possible recouped by the sale of the land reclaimed. 
No conditions as to domicile attach to the sale of government lands 
under these terms. 

RECLAMATION BY IRRIGATION. 

The report of the rivers and water supply commission furnishes the 
following statement as to the land under irrigated culture in the 
year 1905-6: Area irrigated from state works, 130,451 acres; area 
irrigated from private works, 86,482 acres; total area irrigated, 
216,933 acres. 

The entire area of the districts was 2,702,180 acres, exclusive of 
roads and reserves; the area irrigated in 1905-6 was therefore very 
nearly 10 per cent of that of the districts. 

The state rivers and water supply commission only came into 
existence in 1906, and the reclamation work of the state was pre- 
viously under the control and management of the secretary for water 
supply. From the report for the year 1904 the following particulars 
relative to some of the government irrigation projects are extracted:' 

Loddon national ivorks. — A regulating reservoir on the Loddon 
Eiver, designed to regulate the flow of the river and increase its 
effective volume by storage against times of insufficient natural 
supply. The dam in the river bed is an overshot weir of concrete, 
with a crest line of automatic flood gates (Chaubart type) ; from the 
weir to the left bank runs an earthen embankment, riprapped on the 
rear slope, and protected on the face by concrete pitching in the 
upper part and broken stone beaching in the lower. The length of 
the masonry weir is 320 feet, that of the earthen extension 700 feet. 
Four cast-iron pipes of 36 inches diameter built into the body of the 
weir, and controlled by valves worked by a gearing above flood level, 
provide outlets for the water. The dam impounds 610,000,000 cubic 
feet (about 14,000 acre-feet). The total cost was $680,000, inclusive 
of land compensation. 



88 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

Kolo Swamp national works. — An intake and regulator were con- 
structed at the effluence of Gunbower Creek from the Murray Eiver, 
and a cut made from the creek to a natural lagoon, known as Kow 
Swamp, converting the latter into a i^eservoir capable of storing 780,- 
000,000 of cubic feet of water for summer use. The reservoir is 
tapped at its northw^estern point and connected by a short branch with 
the Macorna Channel (leading from the Murray to the Loddon 
River), which thus gets its supply from the Murray in winter and 
from the Kow Swamp storage in summer. The channel crosses the 
Loddon by a wrought-iron siphon of 6 feet diameter and there termi- 
nates. The total distance from the Gunbower intake to the Loddon 
Crossing is 42 miles. The supply capable of being delivered is equal 
to 166 cusecs during the winter and 105 cusecs during the summer 
months. The purpose of the works is to furnish a supply of water 
for stock, domestic, and irrigation purposes to the lower Loddon 
district. The total cost to date, including land compensation, is 
$873,000. 

Lake Lonsdale reservoir. — This reservoir is formed by a dam 1^ 
miles in length, constructed across the Little Wimmera River and the 
low ground adjacent, at its outlet from the lake. On the left bank 
the dam is of earth, with a core vv^all of clay, extending 7,695 feet from 
the slopes of Mount Dryden to the river. The river channel is 
crossed by a rubble concrete masonry weir 310 feet long. A waste 
weir 325 feet in length has been excavated on the rocky spur of 
Mount Drummond, on the right bank of the river. The capacitj^ 
at F.S.L. is 1,981,000,000 cubic feet (45,477 acre-feet). The total 
cost of this reservoir, including land compensation, was estimated not 
to exceed $250,000. (The report of the commission for the year 1906 
gives the cost of this project at $235,300.) 

The Mildura trust." — In the year 1887 a concession was given for a special 
area of 250,000 acres on the Murray River at Mildura. This was thrown open 
to public tender and secured by the only applicants, Messrs. Chaffey Brothers. 
The conditions required the expenditure of £300,000 ($1,455,000) in twenty 
years on irrigation works, fruit growing, drying, preserving, and canning indus- 
tries; £10,000 ($48,500) to be laid out during the first year, £35,000 ($169,750) 
during the first five years, and £140,000 ($679,000) during the second five years. 
On the settlement of 100 families the holders of the concession were to establish 
a college for instruction in irrigation, fruit growing, drying, preserving, etc. 
A license to occupy the land for the currency of twenty years was issued on 
these conditions ; the freehold of the land to be given on an expenditure on im- 
provements of an amount varying from £2 ($9.70) to £5 ($24.25) per acre. 

On this basis the licensees secured a total freehold of about 30,000 acres 
which they were permitted to dispose of in limited areas only, together with 
a sufficient water right to each parcel sold. The maximum area which could 
be sold to any one person for fruit growing was 80 acres, and for other produce 
160 acres. 

Although a large amount was expended the Mildura settlement did not 
prosper, and Chaffey Brothers' interest was subsequently transferred to a 
limited liability company which ultimately went into liquidation. 

The state government had to come to the assistance of the settlers, and 
Mildura has since become a prosperous and self-supporting settlement. This 
is the only instance of granting a concession. 

At the present time amending legislation is under consideration with the 
object of providing for the establishment of homestead irrigation settlements 
along the River Murray, the state government erecting the pumping plant, con- 
structing channels, and making the cost thereof a capital charge on the land. 
It is proposed to provide for making these allotments {a) independent holdings, 

« Extract from the statement of the surveyor-general of the crown lands department. 



AUSTRALIA. 89 

or, alternately (&), to attach to the homestead block by title a larger area of 
more or less remote land for dry farming, and in this case the two parcels of 
land are to be inseparable. The object of this is to render it possible to utilize 
for dry farming land on which it is not considered safe to place homes, the 
latter being established on the river frontage. 

NEW SOUTH WALES. 

Reclamation work in New South Wales is handled as one of the 
divisions of the public works department, coming under service head 
of public watering places, artesian bores, water conservation, and 
water supplies and drainage. 

The expenditure under this head for the year 1907 was £22,075 or 
$107,065 approximatel}^ Of this amount about $30,000 was spent on 
maintenance and repairs, $20,000 on surveys, $25,000 on minor works, 
about $8,000 on the Wentworth irrigation area, and the greater part 
of the balance upon artesian bores. 

Work was begun on the Mur ambidgee irrigation scheme, and the 
Cataract dam was completed. 

Little progress was made in swamp drainage (which is operated 
under the water and drainage act of 1906, providing for loans from 
the state treasur}^ for draining swamps and malarial lands), partly 
owing to the wet weather and also to the want of surveyors to make 
the surveys and draw up designs and estimates as required by the 
act. Applications for drainage under the act to the amount of nearly 
170,000 acres are at present pending; about 10,000 acres have been 
already drained. In some instances the petitions have been defeated 
by the action of interested parties who were opposed to the scheme. 

Artesian bores. — The whole of the bores sunk under the artesian- 
wells act have been assessed, the total assessment amounting to about 
$5,800 per annum. All assessments are paid up to date. 

During the year 5 bores were completed and handed over to the 
trustees; 12 bore trust proposals, covering an area of 1,485 square 
miles, were notified; and 14 bore trusts, covering an area of 1,503 
square miles, to be watered by 519 miles of distributing drains, at a 
gazetted cost of $200,000 approximately, were constituted. 

In December, 1906, an amending water and drainage act was 
passed, giving extended powers to the minister and trustees; also 
for the control of the artesian waters, providing that no bores, other 
than government, shall be sunk, enlarged, or deepened without a li- 
cense, and for the control of supply when obtained. This was found 
necessary to protect the interests of persons who had sunk bores by 
preventing the indiscriminate sinking of future bores. The amend- 
ing act gives the minister power to construct channels or embankments 
without easements or resumption. It also provides for the right of 
entry by minister or trustees for the purpose of construction, mainte- 
nance, or repair. The running of lines of levels in connection with the 
isopotential lines is being carried on with all expedition in the 
artesian districts, and will throw much light on the question of the 
source of supply of the waters feeding the artesian beds. The geo- 
logical survey carried on for the purpose of defining the intake areas 
of the artesian water-bearing beds is being steadil}^ advanced. Apian 
of the artesian water-bearing basin^ with the isopotential lines 
marked as hitherto traced, is appended to the report. 



90 GOVEEI^MEKT EECLAMATION WOKK IN FOREIGN COUNTEIES. 

Wentworth irrigation area. — The Wentworth irrigation scheme had 
its inception shortly after Chaffey Brothers settled at Mildura, Vic- 
toria.'^ The original project failed for lack of funds. The Govern- 
ment then took it over, it being felt that, having such a magnificent 
and permanent water supply as that furnished by the Murray Eiver, 
and the soil being uniformly suitable for irrigation, some effort should 
be made to establish an irrigation colony on the New South Wales side 
of the river. 

The irrigation area comprises 10,000 acres of land situated in the 
angle between the Darling and Murray rivers. Over 1,000 acres, 
fronting the river Murray, have been dealt with and subdivided into 
blocks of from 5 to 34 acres. During the early history of the com- 
munity very little progress was made, but in March, 1906, the minis- 
ter of public works inspected the settlement and in consequence special 
terms encouraging settlers to set out orchards and permanently im- 
prove their holdings were made. In granting leases no rent is 
charged until the water is flowing past the block. The lands were 
classified and an annual rent determined. The first year only one- 
fifth of the rental is required, the yearly payment increasing every 
year until for the fifth year the full rental is payable. On these terms 
700 acres have been leased and are under cultivation. 

The leases are granted for a term not exceeding thirty years, at the 
expiration of which the Government may renew the lease for a 
further term not exceeding thirty years. The leases include a water 
right entitling the holder to an equivalent of 30 inches of water per 
annum, but not more than 4 inches in any month. 

There are now 53 holdings in the settlement and the prospects of 
the settlers are satisfactory. The area under vines and fruit trees is 
about one-third of the total holdings and is steadily increasing. 

From the report of the Murray River commission of 1904 the fol- 
lowing is extracted with respect to the Wentworth trust: 

The Wentworth irrigation trust is also largely a failure, only 130 acres out 
of an original grant of 10,000 being in cultivation. The land occupied by this 
trust area is strongly saline and otherwise unsuitable. 

This was in 1904. It will be seen that conditions at Wentworth 
have since then considerably improved. With respect to the saline 
constituents, the report of 1907 says: 

It was thought that there would be trouble in regard to seepage and salt, and 
the whole area has been carefully watched, with the result that no indication 
of the rising of salt has been obtained, although water has been running in the 
main channel for seven years. 

The Wentworth settlement may now be regarded as a successful 
experiment in irrigational agriculture. 

The Murrumbidgee irrigation scheme. — After an exhaustive in- 
quiry lasting nearly ten months, the standing committee on public 
works recommended the carrying out of the proposed Murrumbidgee 
irrigation scheme as recommended bv the department of public works 
at an estimated construction cost of £1,574,008 ($7,649,675). The 
following is a brief description of the scheme: 

1. A high masonry dam across the Murrumbidgee River at the 
Barren Jack site, about 22 miles from the town of Yass. This dam, 

« A brief account of the Mildura colony is given in the report upon land reclamation in 
Victoria. 



AUSTKALIA. 91 

designed to hold up a depth of 200 feet of water, will back up the 
Murrumbidgee for 40 miles and have a capacity of 766,324 acre-feet. 

2. A movable diversion weir on the Murrumbidgee River, about 
236 miles below the Barren Jack dam, to feed the main canal. 

3. A main canal taking oif above the weir, about 132 miles long. 

4. A main branch canal about 35 miles long and a number of dis- 
tributing canals. 

The amount of high-class irrigable land commanded by this canal is 
estimated at about 357,000 acres. Nearly half of this area is freehold. 
It is proposed to acquire the most suitable of these lands and divide 
them into small holdings up to 100 acres in area, and sell them to 
settlers on easy terms. The irrigation rate proposed will be $1.25 per 
acre-foot, amounting to $3.75 per annum for 30 inches of water. 

The supply of water being insufficient for the whole area com- 
manded, holdings of dry land, to be worked in conjunction with the 
irrigated holdings, will be available. The area included in this 
portion of the scheme will be about 1,000,000 acres, which will be 
supplied with water for stock purposes and for the irrigation of 1 
acre out of every 30 for fodder crops. 

As soon as parliamentary sanction was obtained for the scheme 
preliminary operations were commenced, and already considerable 
headway has been made. A township has been established, water 
supply provided, and sanitary system installed. A light railway has 
been laid out connecting the works with the main line of railroad, 
and survey's for the diversion works and canals are in hand. 

Irrigation at Hay. — An irrigation scheme was started several years 
ago at Hay, a town on the Murrumbidgee, under the authority of an 
act of Parliament, but at the time of the holding of the Murray Eiver 
commission the enterprise could not be regarded as successful. Some 
of the land at Hay was not suitable for irrigation and the site as a 
whole was not so favorable as at Mildura. On this head the evidence 
given before the commission by the mayor of Hay (who was also 
a member of the irrigation trust) is of general interest. Replying to 
a question as to soil and general conditions at Hay, the witness re- 
plied as follows: 

I consider the soil as adapted to irrigation and I have confidence in the 
scheme if only we had practical men on the area — men who understand fruit 
culture and the growing of crops by applying water to the land. Unfortu- 
nately we have all had to learn from experience. We have found that land and 
water in themselves are not sufficient ; that there is a proper method of putting 
the water on, and that method has to be learned by experience. A good many 
people, who put in crops regardless of method, found that they get no result. 

Perhaps the most successful irrigation in New South Wales is that 
which is carried on by private landowners. One of these has 60 
miles of channels on his property, the water being supplied by 
pumping. 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 

The largest irrigation settlement in South Australia is Renmark, 
on the right bank of the Lower Murray, and about 15 miles below 
Mildura in Victoria. This settlement was started by Chaffey Broth- 
ers, the originators of the Mildura settlement, in 1887, and on the 
same plan as Mildura, the license granted by the South Australian 



92 GOVEKNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

government for the Kenmark settlement being identical with that 
granted by the Victorian government in the case of Mildura. For 
reasons similar to those operating at Mildura — chief among these 
being the inexperience of both promoters and settlers in respect of 
irrigation — the Renmark scheme was a failure and the works were 
taken over by the South Australian government, an irrigation trust 
being formed to control and operate the works and area commanded. 
The area of the trust is 12,000 acres, of which in 1902, 3,000 were in 
irrigated cultivation, supporting a population of about 1,000, with 
200 irrigation holdings, an average of 15 acres per holder. The rain- 
fall at Renmark is about 6 inches. In 1900 a loan of £16,000 ($75,- 
750) was made to the trust by the South Australian government 
for the purpose of improving the irrigation works and channels, 
nearly all of which have been lined, thus reducing evaporation in 
passage very considerably. 

Renmark is a pumping station; two reservoirs are filled by two 
20-inch centrifugal pumps each, and from these the water is dis- 
tributed through the channels by two other centrifugals. A water 
right charge of £1 ($4.86) per acre per annum is made to cover the 
cost of raising and distributing the water; this is found to be more 
than sufficient. Five or six irrigations of about 5 inches each, are 
given, the average total being 28 inches. Concerning this supply, 
the report of the Murray River commission, 1902, states : 

This represents a volume so great as to inspire apprehensions of serious 
waste. If this volume really is required for fruit culture in the climate and 
soil of the Murray Valley, no time should be lost in amending the grants to the 
trusts; while the fact should be borne in mind in any future concessions pro- 
posed under like circumstances. 

In 1894 the government of South Australia set apart several areas 
on the banks of the Murray for the establishment of village settle- 
ments. Several methods of providing for the unemployed had been 
tried, with little result. The establishment of these settlements was 
regarded as an experiment ; they were started on communistic princi- 
ples, but, owing to the lack of practical knowledge and disagreements 
among the settlers, they have been by no means successful. The origi- 
nal number of the settlements was eleven. Three of these have been 
entirely abandoned; of the remainder, embracing an original area 
of over 40,000 acres, less than 2,000 were being cultivated in 1902. 
It is stated, however, that the residuary settlers are making a fair 
living. 

THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION ON THE RIVER MURRAY, 
AUSTRALIA, 1902. 

The Murray River is the great natural line of drainage of south- 
eastern Australia, the basin of the river and its tributaries comprising 
414,253 square miles, an area one-third larger than that of the 13 
original States of the Union. It is the greatest Avaterway of the com- 
monwealth, and the subject of the utilization of its waters is one of 
vast importance to the inhabitants of the three States — New South 
Wales, Victoria, and South Australia — through which it flows. The 
political position of the river, which forms for the greater part of its 
course the boundary between two States, and passes through a third 



AUSTRALIA. 93 

to discharge its waters into the ocean, has from time to time raised 
questions of interstate rights which were not of easy adjustment; 
and the inevitable rivahy of the three main utilities to which the 
river is servient, irrigation, navigation, and water supply, was for 
long a fertile source of difference and dispute which none of the 
States was capable of settling single handed. 

In the year 1884 a royal commission was appointed in New South 
"\A''ales for the purpose of inquiring, among other matters, into the 
best method of conserving and utilizing the rainfall and other sources 
of water suppty; and the utilization of the waters of the River Mur- 
ray formed a prominent feature of the report of the commission. 
The recommendation of the committee was, in brief, that a joint 
trust, equally representative of Xew South AYales and Victoria, be 
constituted, and that this trust should have complete control of the 
whole of the waters of the Murray River from its source to the 
boundary of South Australia. The waters of the river and of its 
tributaries within these limits were to be the common property of 
the above-named colonies, to be diverted and used by them as directed 
by the trust. 

The colony of South Australia, through which the Murray passes 
on its way to the ocean, being greatly interested in the navigation of 
the river, asked to be joined in conference with the other two colonies. 
Circumstances prevented any conference from taking place, and since 
then the establishment of the Renmark irrigation trust and a num- 
ber of smaller irrigation settlements have given South Australia an 
added interest in the maintenance of the volume of water in the river. 

The chief tangible result of the commission was the organization 
in Xew South Wales of a water conservation service (Victoria had 
for several years a water supply department) and the institution of 
several irrigation projects. In Victoria an added impetus was given 
to irrigation, and several schemes were carried into effect. 

The birth of the Australian commonwealth brought into existence 
a new authorit}^ vested with powers which, within certain limits, are 
supreme. The introduction of this new and to some extent control- 
ling factor made it more than ever necessary that the States interested 
in the disposal of the waters of the Murray basin should come to some 
conclusion as to their respective rights and interests in the river and 
in works for the utilization of its waters. Several successive years 
of drought stimulated public feeling and anxiety concerning the mat- 
ter, and in March, 1902, the Murray River Canal League invited the • 
federal premier, together with the premiers of Xew South Wales, 
Victoria, and South Australia to a conference upon the subject. The 
resolutions passed at the conference were, in brief, as follows : 

I. That the governments of the commonwealth and of the States concerned 
be urged to cooperate in a comprehensive scheme for the utilization of the 
waters of the Murray, which, while improving the navigability of that river, 
will also provide for the needs of the residents on both banks in the conserva- 
tion and distribution of its waters. 

II. That the States of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia be 
asked to empower the Federal Government to provide national storage reser- 
voirs on the Upper Murray. 

IV. That, in the opinion of this conference, the circumstances of Australia 
demand that all natural waters not already appropriated under legal sanction 
shall be declared public water and made subject to a suitable system of law 
applicable to the whole of the continent. 
77331—09 7 



94 GOVEKNMENT KECLAMATION WOKK IN FOKEIGN- COUNTEIES. 

Before the conference separated it- was announced that a royal com- 
mission would be appointed by the three States to investigate and re- 
port. Three commissioners, representing the States of New South 
Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, were appointed in May, and 
after holding 63 meetings in various parts of the commonwealth for 
the purpose of taking evidence, besides 80 meetings in committee, 
rendered their report in December of the same year. 

The most important chapters of this report, from the standpoint of 
another nationality, are those which occupy themselves with the fol- 
lowing questions: 1. The interests connected with navigation and 
their claims as compared with those of general supply and irriga- 
tion; II, the legal aspect of state rights and the apportionment of 
waters; III, the division of available water among States; IV, the 
control of the river and its tributaries. It has been deemed advisable 
to give at some length the substance of these chapters. 

NAVIGATION, GENERAL WATER SUPPLY, AND IRRIGATION. 

The navigation of the Murray has always been principally in the 
hands of South Australia. In most years the river is navigable up 
to Wentworth (about 15 miles below Mildura) for about seven 
months in the year ; the Darling being generally navigable from 
Blanchetown to Albury for an average of six months in the year. 
The settlers along the banks of both rivers are dependent on water- 
earriage for their supplies and for the transit of their products, the 
cost of land-carriage being prohibitive. About 90 registered steamers 
and the same number of barges ply upon the river. 

It seemed unlikely that the navigability of the river had been 
appreciably affected by what had already been done in the way of 
irrigation, the total of the water diverted for that purpose, both in 
New South Wales and Victoria, having had no sensible influence 
upon the duration of the period of navigation. The important factor 
affecting this has been the natural storage in certain lakes; a great 
part of which flowed out as the river sank, thus maintaining its 
volume at times for one or two months beyond the period at which 
navigation would otherwise have ceased. 

Witnesses generally were of opinion that it would be a convenience 
to have the river open for navigation all the year round, but the 
volume of evidence showed that the periods of actual navigability 
were sufficient both for the volume of trade and the needs of the set- 
tlers. An important exception was however the case of the Renmark 
irrigation settlement (a South Australian Irrigation Trust below 
Mildura, with an irrigated area of about 12,000 acres), where the 
settlers suffer considerable annual loss owing to the river being closed 
at the time their perishable fruits are ripe. 

It was not easy to arrive at the value of the trade maintained by 
navigation, but it was stated in evidence that for several years from 
1878 the South Australian government had paid to that of New South 
Wales £40,000 ($194,000) per annum for the privilege of free trade 
with the latter colony. In considering the question whether the vol- 
ume of river-borne trade would be sufficient to warrant the expendi- 
ture of about £350,000 (nearly $1,700,000) in the construction of 
locks and weirs, the great diminution in the volume of river trade 
during the last few years was felt to be important. Although several 



AUSTRALIA. 95 

witnesses ascribed this in the main, if not entirely, to the shortage 
of water in the river, the bahmce of evidence seemed to point to the 
conchision that the falling off was chiefly due to the drought of the 
three preceding years, and also to the recent railway extension and 
to the preferential treatment given to the railroads. 

As regards the comparative importance of the navigation and irri- 
gation interests, it was shown that an irrigable area of 50,042,000 
acres existed in the three States, consisting chiefly of alluvial plains, 
and that the whole of these, unless provided with a water supply suffi- 
cient to create fertilit3% must remain uninhabited wastes. Large por- 
tions of this irrigable district were shown to be commanded by the 
Murray and its tributaries, and capable of being irrigated by them. 
In New South Wales the government survej^ors estimated the area 
capable of being irrigated, should the proposed schemes be carried 
out, at nearly 2,000.000 acres; the Water Supply Department of Vic- 
toria gives 2,000,000 acres as a conservative estimate of the land that 
can be profitably irrigated ; and the irrigable area in South Australia 
was given at 2,500,000 acres. 

- The weight of evidence on the whole was in favor of considering 
irrigation as superior in importance to navigation, and the decision 
of the commission was: 

The conclusion is unavoidable that, although existing vested interests de- 
mand certain substantial concessions in favor of maintaining the navigable 
condition of the rivers, the extension of navigation, except by the construction 
of locks, is not to be looked for. It is further evident that, in the event of 
circumstances at any time causing a conflict of interests, the demands of naviga- 
tion must yield to those of general supply to settlers and for the irrigation of 
land. 

LEGAL ASPECT OF STATE RIGHTS AND PRINCIPLES TO BE ADOPTED IN 
APPORTIONMENT OF WATERS. 

It was agreed that in considering the just allotment of the waters 
of the Murray basin to the use of each of the three States, the legal 
grounds of their several claims could not be entirely ignored. But 
the uncertainty of the effect of decisions — common law alone being 
applicable — rendered it impossible, even were it advisable, to deal with 
them on this sole basis. Considerations of policy, of vested interests, 
and of the general welfare of the people must be accorded due weight 
in the settlement. It would be a public calamity if state rights 
should be left to be fought out in the courts ; it would be hardly less 
calamitous to attempt to deal with them on strictly legal grounds, 
untempered by other considerations. 

The diversity of opinion as to these rights, arising among trained 
lawyers, as shown by the legal opinions given in evidence, rendered 
the task of the commission still more delicate and difficult. 

With regard to the question of superior state right in the waters 
of the Murray, the majority of the witnesses held that, subject to 
certain minor differences, the sole jurisdiction over the river and 
the exclusive right to legislate in regard to it, are vested in New 
South Wales. The basis for this opinion appears to have chiefly been 
a clause in an imperial act, which runs as follows : 

The whole water course of the River Murray from its source herein described 
to the eastern boundary of the colony of South Australia is and shall be within 
the territory of New South Wales. 



96 GOVEKNMENT KECLAMATION WOEK IN FOKEIGN COUNTKIES. 

As against this absolute view, however, it was admitted that both 
the State of Victoria and her citizens, as riparian owners, were en- 
titled to an easement, almost tantamount to a right of property, in the 
water of the river; the distinction between a right of property and 
a right of government being clearly maintained. 

As to the tributaries of the Murray, witnesses agreed that the 
rights of the States within their own boundaries have not been 
affected by federation, except that they have been restricted in 
respect of diversion, when this would impede the navigation of the 
main river. The balance of opinion was that, before federation, 
each colony had full control over and power to use all the waters 
within its own territory, irrespective of the effect such use might 
have on the, waters of the Murray itself. It was even held by some 
that the only limit to the right of New South Wales to the absolute 
use of the waters within her territory, including the Murray down 
to the South Australian boundary, arose out of the obligations of 
comity toward the neighboring States. Following this doctrine, Vic- 
toria would be within her powers in granting rights of diversion 
from the tributaries; she would exceed them in granting rights in 
the main stream. The opposite view was put forward in a claim on 
behalf of South Australia, that she is entitled to. a share in the 
waters of the Murray and of all the tributaries of that river. This 
appears equivalent to a declaration that riparian rights of States are 
subject to the ordinary rules of common law affecting private pro- 
prietors. On this point great divergence of legal opinion was mani- 
fested; one view being that riparian common law was applicable 
between States as between individuals; another, that riparian law, 
as between States, would be the same as between individuals, with 
the qualification that the state rights are territorial, the private 
rights pertinent to property; a third view, the converse of the first, 
was that the common law of riparian right, as between private pro- 
prietors, does not hold as between States. 

With respect to the precedence of the respective claims of naviga- 
tion and of irrigation, the opinions given in evidence may be sum- 
marized thus: 

Legislation in regard to diversions must have respect to the maintenance of 
navigation. 

Any interference with the natural flow of the Murray that would render the 
river less navigable would be unconstitutional. In this sense the tributaries 
are part of the main stream. 

Any scheme interfering with the natural flow of the river, and constituting 
a complete or even serious obstruction to its navigability for the purposes of 
interstate trade, would be an infringement of the constitution, subject, how- 
ever, to the restrictions imposed by section 100 (State rights of reasonable use). 

The establishment of federation does not affect the constitutionality of any 
State bringing about a diminution of the navigability of the Murray, save to 
the extent to which such enactment conflicts with some enactment of the federal 
legislature on the subject of navigation. 

Water for irrigation may be held to be a natural right where cultivation is 
impossible vfithout it. This application of common-law principles has grown 
up in America ; it leads to the conclusion that the use of water for navigation 
must be subservient to irrigation. If the English common law were admitted 
here, without modification, five-sixths of the Australian continent would remain 
uninhabitable for all time. Both in America and in Australia, with the in- 
crease of population, irrigation will eventually become a factor in the life 
struggle of humanity. 

Natural rights of navigation extend only to tidal rivers. In nontidal rivers 
they may be acquired by lengthened use, but extend only so far as that use. 



I 



AUSTRALIA. 97 

America has amended the common law to meet local conditions. In that country 
the common law doctrine as to navigability of rivers has been set aside, and it 
has been held that a river navigable in fact is navigable in law. But though 
navigability in fact gives rise to a legal right, that right is not paramount, and 
does not give navigation precedence over irrigation. Under the federal con- 
stitution the test of navigability of a river would consist in its capacity for 
being used as a channel of trade and commerce. 

A definition of the term " reasonable use " was given as : " Such 
use as will not interfere with the rights of others." 

On the question of jurisdiction it was clear that prior to federation 
the enforcement of riparian rights as between colonies or between 
the citizens of different colonies was practically impossible, by reason 
of the absence of any common interstate laAV of riparian rights and 
of any tribunal with power to declare and enforce them. Questions 
of riparian rights between citizens of different States Avere, prior to 
federation, within the jurisdiction of the courts of that State where 
an alleged wrong was done. These have now passed to the federal 
high court, which may declare the law as between States and as be- 
tween citizens of different States ; it can not make or amend the law. 
-There was a consensus of opinion as to the need for amendment of 
the common law in regard to riparian rights. The leading views are 
summarized as follows: 

Under the Roman civil law the water of streams is of public right, and its 
appropriation by a first comer gives him a right as against lower riparian 
owners. The civil law is more conducive to the use of water in agriculture than 
the common law and would be more beneficially applicable in Australia. In 
arid America the common law has been in some States abolished, in some 
ignored, in all modified to meet the actual facts. 

It is a matter for legislation, which is the quickest mode of dealing with it, 
to declare a code of law with regard to the use of waters. 

The common law might be abrogated in respect of riparian rights in so far 
that these would be vested in the crown instead of in private owners. 

^Yhatever action may be taken, the vested interests already exist- 
ing, whether of navigation, irrigation, or general supply, must receive 
due recognition. The conservation of existing interests such as have 
grown out of the natural conditions of the country and have remained 
for a long time unchallenged, is a fundamental principle of law, and 
it was determined by the commission that provision should be made 
for the continuance of the navigation of the river to an extent at least 
equal to heretofore, and that the construction of weirs and locks be 
recommended. 

After provision for navigation there would remain a considerable 
but variable surplus available for irrigation and other industrial 
uses, the equitable apportionment of rights in which was the most 
difficult part of the duty assigned to the commission. The decision 
of the commission was, in brief, to consider the country commanded 
by the river water — that is, the country that can be served by gravi- 
tation, either from the main river or from the tributaries — as a whole, 
and then to endeavor to solve the question : 

How and on what principle are rights to be assigned, so as to 
insure widest extent of permanent settlement, the maximum of pro- 
ductiveness, the most active internal trade, and the most profitable 
foreign commerce? 

From this point of view, the largest rights should be assigned to 
the States that have the largest areas of irrigable land; whose land, 



98 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

commanded by the available water supply, is of the character and 
quality most likely to prove profitable when irrigated; and whose 
land, of suitable quality, can most readily and cheaply be provided 
with the necessary works of conveyance and distribution. 

Some regard must also be had to vested interests that have already 
grown up, as at Mildura and Renmark, and in respect of rights con- 
ceded to certain of the Victorian irrigation trusts. 

Further, there must be recognition of and concession to what 
would be the riparian rights of the States, if they were private pro- 
prietors, or if the common law of riparian rights could be held 
applicable in their case. 

The natural wants of the numerous towns and villages scattered 
throughout the Murray basin, and of the numerous herds of cattle 
and flocks of sheep pasturing on the lands drained by the river 
and its tributaries, must be granted on a liberal scale and made 
a first charge on the available water supply. In recognition of this 
concession, there must be an end of river pollution, whether by the 
insanitary condition of towns or the dwellings of settlers or by the 
continued appropriation of the water courses of the country as com- 
mon drains for the disposal of mine debris or of the waste products 
of factories. 

Finally, in the consideration of claims and apportionment of rights 
the river and its tributaries must be looked upon as one. 

DIVISION OF AVAILABLE WATER AMONG THE STATES. 

The majority resolutions of the commission were in the main as 
follows : 

I. Until the initiation of a system of locks and weirs in the lower part of 
the river and of the main tributaries, the total diversions of the upper riparian 
States shall be restricted to 440,000 cubic feet per minute from July to January 
and 370,000 cubic feet per minute from February to June. Of this allotment 
New South Wales is to receive two-thirds and Victoria one-third. To meet the 
requirements of South Australia, the amount of water sent down the river 
channel at the boundary line shall be, from July to January, 170,000 cubic feet 
per minute; from February to June, 70,000 cubic feet per minute. It is esti- 
mated that this discharge, together with the accretions within the boundary of 
South Australia, will be sufficient to maintain the river traffic in its present 
condition until the lock system is inaugurated. Should the volume of water in 
the river be insufficient to provide for these diversions and appropriation, a 
proportionate reduction shall be made in each, so as to bring their sum witllin 
the total available. In the event of a storage reservoir being constructed on 
the Upper Murray, the expense of the same, and the water supply derivable 
therefrom, to be divided equally between the three States. 

From this report the commissioner for South Australia dissented 
on grounds generally traceable to his conviction, as stated in his 
minority report, that: 

The first and paramount duty of the commission is to determine the mini- 
mum flow necessary to be maintained for the purpose of navigation, the 
question of the just allotment of the waters between the States for conservation 
and irrigation being subsidiary to the main necessity of keeping the rivers 
navigable. 

CONTROL OF THE RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 

The control of navigation being in the Commonwealth, and that of 
irrigation and conservation in the States, it is necessary that their 
administration should be kept apart ; whilst, however, commonwealth 



NEW ZEALAND. 99 

authority and control of state rights should be distinct, it is im- 
portant that there should be proper concert between them. 

This object would be secured by the appointment of a permanent 
commission, representative of the three States, to administer and con- 
trol diversion and to construct and control those works of irrigation 
and conservation in which more States than one are concerned, with 
powers to consult with the Federal Government and to conclude 
agreements with it on all such matters aifecting the rivers as are sub- 
ject to commonwealth jurisdiction. The powers and duties of this 
commission should be wide enough to enable it to deal with such 
questions as those remitted to this commission. Its functions should 
be defined with regard to the broad lines to be followed, but not with 
regard to details or procedure. 

Matters specifically remitted to it should be : 

(a) The investigation of all proposals for the construction of 
storage and other works intended to serve the interests of more than 
one State, and the apportionment of the cost thereof. 

(h) The variation, when necessary to meet altered conditions or to 
conform with the fuller information from time to time available, of 
the volumes to be provided for navigation, or for the respective serv- 
ice of the several States. 

(c) The settlement of disputes arising between the States out of 
matters connected with the administration of the agreement relating 
to the control and diversion of water from the Murray and its tribu- 
taries. 

(d) The making of regulations, either temporary or permanent, 
limiting the volumes to be diverted from time to time or at any speci- 
fied season, or diminishing or suspending diversions. 

(e) Providing against the pollution of rivers and streams. 

NEW ZEALAND. 

Operations connected with land reclamation in New Zealand, 
whether by drainage or irrigation, are in general under the control 
of the local county councils. As far as the Dominion government is 
concerned, the general rule is that when works of that character re- 
quire to be carried out, the local council in whose county the proposed 
operations are situated furnishes particulars of the necessary work, 
and of the estimated cost involved. Should the matter be one that 
apears essential to the well-being of the district, and especially 
where crown lands are affected, and the funds at the disposal of the 
local bod}^ concerned (either by way of special loan or ordinary 
rates and levies) are insufficient for the purpose, it has been the prac- 
tice in many instances to give the services of a government engineer 
or surveyor to draw up a practicable scheme and specifications for 
carrying out the requisite work, and to aid by means of a parliamen- 
tary grant or subsidy, the prosecution of the work by the local body, 
subject to the supervision of a government officer, who sees to its 
being carried out in the most effective manner. 

It is very rare that the government undertakes such a work wholly 
at its own expense, and that is almost solely when the lands affected 
are in the hands of the Crown. In such a case, the department of 
lands, or the department of roads, assumes direction of operations 
and carries out the work. 



100 GOVEKNMENT EECLAMATION WOKK IN FOKEIGN COUNTKIES. 

As will be seen b}- a perusal of the various statutes, it is customary 
to raise a sjDecial loan to effect the works, and all the lands within this 
special loan area are rated to provide for the annual interest and 
sinking fund on the money so advanced. 

By the provisions of the water-supply act of 1891, which is still in 
force, all the necessary powers required for the formation of water- 
supply districts (locally styled " water-race districts," a " water race " 
being denned as " the land occupied by any natural or artificial chan- 
nel for the supply of water to be used in, upon, or through any land, 
and all branch races taken or made through any lands for the purpose 
aforesaid, and includes any alteration or extension thereof, and all 
flood banks, dams, sluices, meters, reservoirs, or other waterworks, 
and all buildings and machinery, pipes, and other materials upon the 
land and within the limits of a water race") are conferred upon the 
county councils, which may, subject to the provisions of the act, pur- 
chase, acquire, or expropriate the land required for the purpose of 
constructing a water race, and then proceed to construct the same. 
Certain provisions of the act are noteworthy : 

I. Before interfering witli any stream or river, or diverting water therefrom, 
plans of tlie proposed alteration or derivation shall be deposited at the county 
court-house for public inspection, and thirty days' notice given for the lodging 
of objections, after which period, if no objection has been lodged in writing at 
the court-house or some public office, the work may proceed. If an objection is 
lodged, the county council meet and hear the evidence in support thereof, and 
either support the objection, annulling the project, or altering it as requested, 
or reject the objection, in which latter event appeal may be made by the ob- 
jector either to the district or to the supreme court. 

II. In case the council shall at any time cease for a period of two years to 
use any land over which it has acquired rights as a water race, such land shall 
(subject to any special agreement made in respect thereof with the owner or 
owners), upon the expiration of two years, revert to the then owner or oMTiers 
of the land from which the same was originally severed; but the council shall 
not be liable to such owner or owners for so ceasing to use the land. 

III. The council shall not be responsible for the failure of any water supply, 
from whatever cause the same may arise. 

IV. Special loans. — The council may (a) raise from time to time a special 
loan for the purpose of exercising the powers conferred by the act with respect 
to water races, provided that the aggregate of all such loans shall not exceed 
one-half of the fee simple of the land as appearing on the valuation roll of the 
district. The proposal to raise a loan must be laid before the taxpayers of 
the district, and the consent of not less than half of the total number of 
taxpayers representing not less than three-fifths of the ratable property in 
the district obtained thereto; (&) impose and levy a special rate on all lands 
in the district to secure and pay the interest upon and provide a fund for 
the repayment of any such loan. Such special rate may be levied either (1) 
on a uniform scale, or (2) on a graduated scale, according to the classification 
of lands as described in the following section. All lands in any district which 
by their altitude, configuration, or other physical causes are excluded from 
deriving any possible benefit from a water race, shall be exempted from all 
rates to be levied in respect of such water race, as also all lands which are 
supplied with water from springs, streams, or private water races thereon, 
unless the respective owners consent to the lands being rated. 

V. Classification of lands. — The council may from time to time classify all 
lands in the district into the following classes: (1) Lands receiving or sup- 
posed to receive immediate and direct benefit; (2) lands receiving or supposed 
to receive less direct benefit; (3) lands receiving only an indirect benefit from 
the construction of a water race; (4) all other lands; and the rates shall be 
levied upon the first three classes of lands in such proportion as the council 
may in each case appoint. Any person who thinks himself aggrieved by such 
classification may appeal against the same on the grounds following, and no 
other: (a) That the classification does not fairly classify the lands of the 
appellant; (&) that any land liable to be classified is omitted from the classifi- 
cation or is not fairly classified. 



NEW ZEALAND. 101 

The notice of appeal must be given to the clerlv of the nearest magistrate's 
court, and the case heard before him ; and the decision of the magistrate, 
whether to support the classification or to amend it as petitioned, shall be 
final and conclusive. 

VI. Charges for tvater supply. — The council may prescribe the terms and 
conditions upon which any water race made by it may be used, and upon which 
water may be supplied, and the rates for the same, and may provide, if ad- 
visable, for a scale of charges difi'ering in any district from those in another. 
Such charges may be estimated to cover the interest and sinking fund on any 
loan raised for the purpose of construction, maintenance, and repair of water 
races. Every occupier and owner of land in, through, over, under, upon, or 
along which a water race has been constructed shall be liable to pay the afore- 
said charges, unless exempt as already noted. But no occupier shall be liable 
for charges in arrear for any period exceeding two years from the time when 
such charges first became due. 

If the council shall constitute districts in which different scales of charges 
shall be imposed for the supply of water from water races, the water-supply 
charges raised in that district may be wholly expended upon the races in that 
district. 

VII. By-lmvs. — The council may from time to time make, alter, and repeal 
by-laws (1) to prevent the obstruction of water races; (2) to prevent the 
pollution of water in races; (3) to prevent the driving of animals or vehicles, 
or the conveying of machinery or other material through or across water races, 
except at the appointed crossings; (4) to punish persons for interfering with 
any works or appliances connected with water races without the consent of the 
council; (5) to protect rangers and other persons employed by the council in 
connection with water races in the discharge of their duties; (6) to prevent 
the widening, deepening, or alteration of the course of water races without the 
consent of the council; (7) to prevent generally trespasses, nuisances, and ob- 
structions to water races, and make provision for the proper protection and 
management of the same; (S) to provide for the cleansing, repair, and main- 
tenance of any water race by the owner or occupier of land on which such race 
is situate. 

VIII. The council is moreover authorized (1) to prevent the diversion of any 
stream, or portion thereof, within or bounding a water-race district, without 
the consent of the council; (2) to remove or cause to be removed any channel, 
intake, weir, or other works which cause any such river or stream to be 
diverted, and generally to do or permit to be done anything necessary for the 
efficient use by the council of the whole of the waters in any river or stream. 

IX. The governor may from time to time make, amend, or revoke regulations 
under this act to provide that any lessee of pastoral land held under any land 
act may construct water races to irrigate the land so leased, and may agree 
that on the expiry of such lease the outgoing tenant shall be entitled to 
valuation for the benefit which any such races are to the land comprised in 
the lease. (Amendment of 1894.) 

X. The council may (1) stop the flow of water in any water race for the 
purpose of cleansing, repairing, altering, enlarging, or extending any water race 
or reservoir for water, or for any other purpose which the council may deem 
proper; (2) stop, reduce, or alternate the flow of water in any water race, and 
control and manage all water races in the county in such manner as may be 
deemed best adapted for the purpose of providing a supply of water. (Amend- 
ment of 1898. ) 

XI. It shall be the duty of the council constructing or maintaining a water 
race to prevent low-lying lands being thereby flooded, water-logged, or otherwise 
seriously affected. Any person owning or occupying land which he has reason 
to believe will be injuriously affected by the construction of any water race 
may apply to the district or supreme court for an injunction to prevent such 
water race being proceeded with unless adequate provision is made to prevent 
such land being flooded, water-logged, or otherwise injuriously affected, and 
the court may thereupon grant such injunction or make such order as shall 
best meet the circumstances of the case. 

XII. A county council may by special order appoint not less than 5 nor more 
than 7 ratepayers who shall have the management on behalf of the council, 
and may confer upon such managing ratepayers all or any of the powers of 
management possessed by the council, provided that no such order be made 
except upon a requisition requesting the same signed by a majority of the rate- 
payers supplied by such water race. (Amendment of 1898.) 



102 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

GOTERNMEIS^TAIj participation II^ DRAIIS^AGE AND 
UNWATERING ONLY. 

DENMARK. 

Government participation in land reclamation in Denmark is 
confined to furnishing financial assistance to landowners who are 
desirious of draining morasses or heaths. For this purpose a yearly 
appropriation is usually made by the Eigsdag, to be expended under 
the direction of the department of agriculture. The sum appro- 
priated depends upon the sums required for previously approved 
applications and amounted in 1906 to $10,720. The manner in which 
the assistance of the department is secured is as follows : 

When a landowner desires to obtain financial aid from the Govern- 
ment toward the reclamation of any heath lands, swamps, or morasses 
owned by him, he is required to make a formal petition to that effect 
to the governor of the province in which the land in question is 
situated, and must furnish in this petition a detailed account of his 
financial circumstances, stating also the area of the land he proposes 
to reclaim, how long the same has been in his possession, hoAV many 
head of live stock he owns, the amount of insurance carried on the 
buildings, on the property, etc. Previously to sending in the petition 
he must apply to the Danish Heath Society to make a technical survey 
and examination of the property and report thereon as to whether 
the land in question can be successfully reclaimed. If the report is 
favorable, he submits it to the governor along with his petition. No 
petition will be considered that is not accompanied by a recommenda- 
tion from the Heath Society. 

No charge is made by the Heath Society for making the requisite 
technical examination and report; all the necessary plans for the 
reclamation of the land in question are also prepared by the engineers 
of the society without charge, and, if the petitioner's application is 
approved and the necessary appropriation made, the society super- 
vises the work of reclamation. No charge is made by the Heath 
Society for such assistance except in cases where the work planned 
by the society is not carried out for the reason that the parties inter- 
ested have not been able to come to an agreement as to the manner of 
its execution ; in such a case the amount of the expenses in connection 
with the preliminary work is paid to the society. 

The terms of the amortization of the government loans for land 
reclamation are as follows: 

The rate of interest is fixed at 3 per cent per annum. 

For the first five years the interest only is paid. 

For the ensuing ten years ^ per cent of the original indebtedness 
is paid yearly. 

For the ensuing period 5 per cent of the original indebtedness is 
paid yearly. 

From the payments made from the sixth year onward, the interest 
upon the capital sum outstanding, reckoned at 3 per cent, is deducted, 
and the balance written off the principal. The debt is thus amortized 
in the forty-second year after contraction. 

The manner in which a debt of, say, 10,000 kronen would be thus 
amortized is as follows : 



DENMARK. 
Amortization of a cleht of 10,000 l-ronen. 



103 





Principal. 


Install- 
ment. 


Applied as— 


Years. 


Interest. 


Amorti- 
zation. 


I 


10,000.00 
10.000.00 
10,000.00 
10, 000. 00 
10, 000. 00 
10,000.00 
9, 950. 00 
9,898.60 
9,845.47 
9, 790. 82 
9,734.55 
9, 676. 60 
9, 616. 91 
9, 555. 42 
9, 492. 07 
9,426.83 
9, 209. 64 
8,985.94 


300.00 
300. 00 
300. 00 
300. 00 
300. 00 
350.00 
350. 00 
350. 00 
350.00 
350. 00 
350. 00 
350. 00 
350. 00 
350.00 
350.00 
500. 00 
500. 00 
500. 00 


300. 00 
300. 00 
300. 00 
300.00 
300. 00 
300. 00 
298. 50 
296. 97 
295.35 
293. 73 
292. 05 
290. 31 
288. 51 
286.65 
284. 76 
282.81 
276. 30 
269.58 


Nil. 


II 


Nil. 


Ill 


Nil. 


IV 


Nil. 


V 


Nil. 


VI 


50.00 


VII 


51.50 


VIII 


53.03 


IX 


54.65 


X 


56.27 


XI 


57.95 


XII 


59.69 


XIII 


61.49 


XIV 


63.35 


XV 


65.24 


XVI 


217. 19 


XVII 


223. 70 


XVIII 


230. 42 







And so forth, until the debt is amortized, which, as stated above, 
will take place in the forty-second year after contraction. 

GREECE. 

The participation of the Greek Government in the reclamation of 
land has until lately been confined to granting upon certain condi- 
tions concessions for the draining and reclaiming of marshes and 
swamps to private individuals and associations who are willing to 
risk their capital in such enterprises. 

These swamps and marshes are numerous, especially north of the 
Isthmus, and might in many cases, be restored to cultivation. The 
only important enterprise of the kind yet undertaken is the reclaim- 
ing of Lake Copais, an account of which undertaking is appended. 

In the year 1889, the Bule passed a bill empowering the minister of 
finance to contract a loan of about $2,300,000 for drainage and irri- 
gation in Thessaly; but the project never got beyond some prelimi- 
nary surveys in that region. Another bill has been brought lately 
before the Bule providing for the appropriation of 4,000,000 
drachmai (about $772,000) for the drainage of the marshes in Greece, 
but the sum asked for is regarded as being so inadequate that the 
results are not likely to prove valuable. 

There is no general law defining the aid which the Government 
may extend to reclamation enterprises, a special agreement or con- 
vention being made between the Government and the company in each 
case approved; but the attitude of the Government in such matters 
may be estimated from the tenor of the law on " The Draining of 
Lakes," as follows: 

I. Leave is hereby granted to the Governmeiit to concede to companies the 
right of the draining of lakes ; and such concession shall also include the soil of 
the lake usually covered by water, lying within the circumference of the ordinary 
inundations. For every such concession a royal decree shall be promulgated on 
the motion of the council of ministers. 

II. The following concessions may be made to companies undertaking the 
work of reclamation; (a) the absolute ownership of one-half of the reclaimed 
lands; (&) the usufruct for ninety-nine years of the remainder of the land con- 



104 GOVERNME]^TT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

ceded; (c) exemption from all taxation for five years dating from tlie comple- 
tion of the drainage operations ; (d) the exemption from any duty on the lands 
conceded and on the buildings erected thereupon, and likewise on the material 
imported, necessary for draining, cultivation, or construction work, for a period 
of ten years from the issuance of the concession; (e) a proportionate tract of 
land, belonging to the State, round the lake, for the purpose of erecting ware- 
houses or factories for the service of the company. 

III. All construction work must be completed within ten years from the date 
of the concession; in default whereof the company shall pay into the public 
treasury a fine, the amount of which shall be fixed by the convention, but shall 
not be less than 5,000 drachma! ($965) ; and shall moreover be declared de- 
prived of its rights under the concession by decree of the council of ministers. 
In such case the works already executed remain the property of the defaulting 
company, but the Government shall concede the enterprise to another company 
on the conditions stated above. 

lY. The ordinance of the law of 1867 and of the convention sanctioned by 
the same for the draining of the Lake Copais, so far as regards the determina- 
tion of the two circumferences of the ordinary inundations, the trial of the 
claims that may be made by individuals for lands lying within the circumfer- 
ences and the mode of indemnifying them shall apply also to the concessions 
that shall be made by virtue of the present law. The company has the right to 
claim from the owners of lands lying between the two circumferences one-third 
of the increase in value accruing to said lands from the reclamation work. 

Y. The amount of the guarantee to be paid into the public treasury by the 
company in conformity with the provisions of Clause III, the period fixed for- 
the payment of the same, and the other details of the concession shall be fixed 
by the royal decree that shall be promulgated for the concession according to 
Clause I. 

YI. The company undertaking the draining of any district shall be permitted 
to utilize the waters that inundated the same for the foundation of industrial 
establishments and for the general irrigation of lands, and to receive from the 
owners or occupiers of such lands a duty to be fixed by royal decree and not 
exceeding 3 drachmai per stremma ($2.40 per acre). 

THE RECLAMATION OF LAKE COPAIS. 

Lake Copais was until recently a lake in Boeotia, surrounded by a 
stretch of swamp, the whole extending over about 60,000 acres. It 
forms the natural reservoir for a number of mountain streams, of 
which the most notable was anciently the Cephissus, and in modern 
times the Melas, or Black Kiver. The depression is bordered on the 
east and northeast by limestone bluffs, pierced in many places by 
natural fissures (called Katavothra, lit. declivity), through which 
the surplus waters after reaching a certain level found their way by 
subterranean channels to the plains below, and in the case of the 
Grand Katavothra to an arm of the Euboean Sea, about 4 miles dis- 
tant and 300 feet below the level of the lake. 

Eeclamation work in connection w^th this lake is known to have 
existed anciently, the ruins of an extensive canal and tunnel system 
(dating from the heroic age and probably the work of the Minyai of 
Orchomenos) having been discovered and explored. The subter- 
ranean canals were constructed much on the same principle as that 
employed in Persia at the present day for the conduits that bring the 
waters of the mountain springs to the cities, a series of shafts at short 
distances being sunk to facilitate the boring of the tunnel and removal 
of the excavated material. It is probable that as long as these 
tunnels were in working order the greater part of the lake was in 
cultivation. 

Since the classical era no attempt was made to reclaim the marsh 
lands or submerged area until 1880, when a French company pro- 



MEXICO. 105 

cured a concession for the draining and exploitation of the tract. 
The plan was to connect Copais with two other lakes at a lower level 
and from the lower of these to cut a channel to the sea. The com- 
pany took six years to construct the works, and when the retaining 
dam was cut in June, 1886, the lake was emptied in forty-nine days. 
In the following 3^ear the original company went into liquidation and 
the project was taken up by an English company. The works com- 
pleted in June, 1895, consisted of: (1) A grand canal with a total 
length of 19.87 miles, of which 6.6 miles lie in the marsh itself; the 
average width of the main channel is 78.7 feet; (2) an interior canal 
for surface draining; width, 65.6 feet; length, 14.54 miles; (3) a 
junction canal, 1.242 miles long, conducting the waters of the 
Cephissus Eiver to the Melas; (4) canalization of the Melas Eiver; 
width of channel, 72.2 feet to 85.2 feet; depth, 26.2 to 32.8 feet; 
length, 11.06 miles; (5) Karditza Outlet; length, 2.485 miles; width, 
85.3 feet ; depth, 52.5 feet ; (6) Moriki Cutting, between Lakes Likeri 
and Paralimni; length, 0.93 mile; width, 82 feet; depth, 9.8 feet; (7) 
Karditza Tunnel; length, 689 yards; width, 52.5 feet; height, 39.3 
feet; (8) Hangara Tunnel, between Lakes Hylicus and Paralimni; 
length, 1,071.74 yards; (9) Anthedon Tunnel, from Paralimni to the 
sea;-length, 940.5 yards; width, 32.8 feet; height, 39.3 feet. 

In the year 1894 there were in all 17,500 acres of reclaimed land 
in cultivation. 

The contract between the Government and the company as to the 
reclaimed land is as follows: Three thousand seven hundred and 
fifty acres are to be distributed pro rata among those peasants who 
can make good their claims to property within the area conceded. 
At the end of ninety-nine years two-thirds of the total area re- 
claimed — say 40,000 acres — revert to the State and one-third — say 
20,000 acres — remains the property of the company. 

MEXICO. 

The only public enterprise connected with the reclamation of land 
undertaken by the Federal Government has been the draining of 
the Valley of Mexico in the federal district of that name, but it has 
not been feasible to obtain particulars concerning these operations. 

With respect to irrigation the Mexican Government has of late 
years shown recognition of the importance of the subject, and in 1894 
a law was passed defining the terms upon which concessions with 
regard to operations for the utilization of water, either as a motive 
power or in irrigation, would be granted. The provisions of this act 
of 1894 are briefly as follows : 

The plans of the proposed works, and full description of the aims 
of the enterprise, must be deposited with the Government within a 
stipulated period. 

Construction work must be approved by a government inspector, 
whose fees are payable by the licensee. 

A cash deposit, with a view of securing the fulfillment of the 
obligations contracted, is required of the licensee. 

The prices and tariffs for sale or rental of water must receive the 
approval of the department of Fomento. 

In consideration of the fulfillment of the above requirements, 
the licensee will receive (1) five years' exemption from taxation upon 



106 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

the location and all constructions in connection with the works; 
(2) duty-free importation of all scientific instruments required in 
the location and construction of the works, and also of all machinery 
and other apparatus needed for the utilization of water in irrigation 
and as a motive power; (3) free occupation, for the purpose of con- 
structing canals, dams, reservt)irs, etc., of all national and vacant land 
required for the purpose; (4) the right to expropriate, for the pur- 
pose of the above construction, any private lands required for the 
same, compensating the owners according to the conditions established 
for the railroads. 

On May 21, 1908, a bill was introduced by the department of finance 
and public credit, providing for the appropriation of $25,000,000 in 
aid of land reclamation by means of irrigation. 

According to a newspaper report of the matter, the main provisions 
of the bill are as follows : 

The sum named, corresponding to nearly $12,500,000, is to be in- 
cluded in the yearly budget of the department and applied as re- 
quired in the form of subsidies to approved enterprises, such subsidies 
being payable on each hectare (2.47 acres) of land brought under 
irrigation, or on each cubic meter of water stored for the same pur- 
pose. 

In connection with the scheme of subsidizing irrigation enterprises, 
it is proposed to establish a farmers' bank for the purpose of making 
loans on reasonable terms and for long periods to landowners who 
desire to improve their lands or to provide themselves with additional 
machinery. Free importation of agricultural implements, cattle for 
breeding purposes, seed and other products, is allowed under certain 
conditions, and freedom from export duties for all the products of 
the lands irrigated under the provisions of this act, for a term not 
longer than ten years, is also included in the provisions of the bill. 

NORWAY. 

Shallow lakes, sloughs, and peat bogs are found in all parts of the 
country, and many of these can be reclaimed and made productive by 
drainage and cultivation. The ownership is largely in private hands, 
but several of the marshes and bogs are on state property. 

The Storthing regularly sets aside an annual appropriation for the 
unwatering and drainage of waste lands and swamps, but the anlounts 
thus appropriated are inadequate in view of the large areas of wholly 
unproductive lands which with comparatively small outlay could be 
converted into meadow lands, or at least into grazing pastures. It 
is conceded, however, that the drained peat bogs of Norway need con- 
tinued cultivation and regular fertilizing for several years after un- 
watering, but this is a principle applicable to such lands in general. 

The sum set aside by the Storthing for drainage is $5,000, the dis- 
posal of which is in the hands of the agricultural department. It is 
distributed in aid of persons possessing such lands as the inspectors 
of the department find worth draining. The inspector draws up 
plans and specifications for the proposed work, together with an 
estimate of the probable cost thereof, and the agricultural department 
will, upon his recommendation, contribute one-fourth of the estimated 
expense as a free gift. The Government controls the work until it 



SWEDEN. 107 

has been completed in accordance with the plans furnished and ap- 
proved by the department. 

State lands are drained upon the recommendation of the depart- 
ment of agriculture, provided the Storthing is willing to make the 
necessary appropriation. The reclaimed lands are disposed of as 
the Storthing decides; when sold, preference is given to the neigh- 
boring farmers or to the commune. 

No statistics showing the total area reclaimed are available. The 
most valuable of the reclaimed lands in Norway are situated in the 
district called "Jaderen," near Stavanger. In this locality several 
large tracts of land have been unwatered and rendered productive 
by drainage; up to the present about 6,000 acres have been brought 
into cultivation. The soil in this tract is, generally speaking, more 
easily cultivated than elsewhere. 

Xo irrigation system has as yet been inaugurated in any part of 
Norway. Some tracts in the valleys of the south are somewhat 
subject to drought, and irrigation might there be resorted to with 
advantage. Elevated lakes and water courses are as a rule found 
in their near vicinity, and an unfailing supply of irrigating water 
could therefore be provided at reasonable cost, but the farms are 
small and the Government has not as yet found it expedient to take 
the initiative in the matter. 

SWEDEN. 

Reclamation work in Sweden takes the form of drainage only 
and government aid is therefore restricted to fostering these oper- 
ations. 

All drainage work of a public character is carried out by the 
direction of construction of highways and waterworks and by the 
ministry of agriculture. Any person desiring to execute drainage 
operations upon his own land at his own expense may make appli- 
cation to the minister of agriculture to have the necessary plans 
drawn up and estimates of the cost of the work made, and this is 
done by government engineers, designated by the chief engineer of 
agriculture. The expense of the work is borne by the applicant, 
who may also pay for the services of a government engineer to con- 
struct and superintend the work. 

Direct monetary aid toward reclamation by means of drainage is 
made in accordance with the law of 1901, whereby applications for 
assistance which have been examined into and approved by the direc- 
tion of highways and waterworks and the ministry of agriculture 
(such examination and approval to include not merely the feasi- 
bility of the work, but also its economic value) and recommended in 
consequence, may receive, out of a special fund yearly set apart for 
that purpose, a grant in aid which may amount to as much as the 
whole cost of the contemplated improvement. 

In such cases the construction and subsequent inspection of the 
reclamation work until such time as the loan has been repaid in full 
are in the hands of the government engineers, who report to the 
direction of highways and waterworks and the ministry of agri- 
culture. 

The loans made for this purpose are amortized in the following 
manner ; 



108 GOVEENMEISTT EECLAMATION WOEK IN FOKEIGN COUNTEIES. 

No payment of principal or interest is required during the first 
three years after the completion of the work. 

During the next three years repayment of the principal is not re- 
quired, but interest at the rate of 3.6 per cent is charged. From the 
seventh jeav onward a yearly rate of 6 per cent is payable, 3.6 being 
charged to interest and the balance written off the principal. The 
loan is thus amortized in the forty-ninth year after the contraction 
' of the debt. Any landow^ner, however, may, if he choose', by giving 
six months' notice to the Government, pay off at any time the full 
amount of his indebtedness, with interest to date. 

A special appropriation of 500,000 kronor ($134,000) was made 
in 1907 in order to assist the landowners in Norrland in draining 
their properties. The state contribution in this case may not exceed 
50 per cent of the total cost according to the estimate of the govern- 
ment engineers. The work must be carried out in strict accordance 
with the plans of the government engineers and must be approved by 
the direction of the highways and waterworks. 

RECLAMATION BY PRIVATE EKTERPRISE. 

BRAZIL. 

As far as has been ascertained the Brazilian Government has not 
participated in any way in the reclamation of land either by drainage 
or irrigation. The policy of the Federal Government is to give all 
possible aid to deserving schemes for the national welfare and., when 
such enterprises are not undertaken independently by the state gov- 
ernment, to further them either by direct intervention and control or 
by a guarantee of interest upon the capital outlay required for the 
enterprises. Up to the present this participation has been almost 
entirely confined to dock and harbor improvements, and the vast 
amount of virgin soil in Brazil yet unsettled renders it unlikely that 
the problem of land reclamation, whether by irrigation or drainage, 
will have more than an academic interest for the Brazilian legislators 
for some years to come." 

CHILE. 

Although the Chilean Government has hitherto taken no active 
part in land reclamation either by drainage or irrigation, the crop 
failures of the last three years have called public attention to the 
economic importance of water storage and distribution, and it is 
likely that before long the Government will bring forward some 
plan for utilizing the streams that descend the slopes of tha Cordil- 
leras for the public advantage, probably after a plan similar to that 
adopted in Argentina. 

Several of the valleys along the Cordilleras range have been for 
many years under irrigation of a primitive character, and the com- 
parison between the regular crops produced even by the crude meth- 

« In the summer of the present year the Brazilian Government has tal?en the initial 
step toward participation in land reclamation by sending to the United States for 
one year a state civil engineer with instructions to make a thorough study of the irrigation 
problems in the West. A large district in the north of Brazil suffers from drought and 
it is possible that when Engineer Baeta Neves's report is handed in some definite action 
with the view of reclaiming that area may be undertaken by the central Government. 



CHINA. 109 

ods employed by the native irrigators and the ahnost complete crop 
failures of the last three years on the unwatered plains below has 
been an object lesson for the Government and people that will as- 
suredly bring results before long. 

CHINA. 

Although the question of irrigation is one of the greatest im- 
portance throughout the whole of the Chinese Empire, especially in 
the north, where year after year crop failures occur, immense dis- 
tricts are laid waste and much suffering ensues owing to the lack 
of measures being taken to conserve and utilize the rainfall, which 
runs to waste ; yet hitherto the Government has, practically speaking, 
taken no official part in irrigation or land reclamation Avork in gen- 
eral. It is true that irrigation is extensively practised wherever 
feasible throughout the Empire, but this, as formerly in India, 
is entireh^ carried out by private enterprise and primitive methods. 
Community ditches, taken out of the navigable canals and operated 
by the villagers of the neighborhood, are to be seen wherever the 
canals themselves are carried and along the courses of many of the 
rivers. 

Some provincial governments have of late shown interest in 
reclamation work. In the vicinity of the city of Hankow the plain 
above the city was turned every year into a vast lake by the overflow 
of the Han Ho,'* which empties into the Yangtse. The viceroy of 
the province ordered a dike to be built inclosing this plain, and 
through the regulation of the flood water the district has been turned 
into a region of great fertility, the outlay on the project being re- 
couped by special taxation. 

In northern China the irrigation question is of the highest eco- 
nomic importance. The rainfall is extremely variable, both as to 
quantity and season. ^ In the best years there is a good rainfall dur- 
ing April and May and a heavier one between July and September, 
but periods of drought, extending over a whole year, followed by 
prolonged and disastrous floods, are frequently the rule rather than 
the exception. The drought areas are usually limited, but owing to the 
difficulties in the Avay of transportation, people within the drought 
district are often d^'ing of famine while a fcAV hundred miles away 
there is an abundant harvest. There is ample water to irrigate the 
whole of the territory, and no government enterprise which could be 
undertaken would confer a more direct benefit upon the inhabitants 
and realize at the same time better returns upon the caj^ital invested. 
Two crops yearl}^ can be raised upon all irrigated land south of the 
Great \Yall. The physical conditions of the catchment areas render 
the installment of irrigation systems particularly simple and com- 
paratively inexpensive, and water rates levied after the plan adopted 
b}^ the provincial governments in India — a wet season and dry season 
rate — would insure an ample revenue to the province and at the same 
time immensely improve the condition of the individual farmer. 

The following account of irrigation in the Shantung Province wdll 
be found of interest. On the Hsiaufo Ho the community of Hsin- 

° Ho=river. 
77331—09 8 



110 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

cheng have been operating an irrigation system for many generations, 
the water being stored in dams and distributed by canals. The 
district was in a highly prosperous condition and crop failures were 
unknown. A few years ago, however, the dwellers along the upper 
course of the river, who had for many years suffered from repeated 
droughts, adopted the same system as the Hsincheng people, with the 
result that the Hsincheng water, being impounded upstream, failed 
to reach the farmers below, and crop failure began in the lower 
district. After a lengthy dispute an arrangement has been arrived 
at whereby a more or less equitable division of the water is made 
between the two localities. 

In the Tsechuan and Lintsehsien districts fine canals once bordered 
the Wu Ho. These, originally intended for carrying off the flood 
waters, proved of prime service for irrigation. Immense lateral 
distributaries were dug on both sides of the Wu, and the flood waters 
stored therein. After they had become stagnant^ and rich in decompos- 
ing vegetable matter they were discharged onto the fields and proved 
of great benefit to the agricultural population, without interfering 
with the normal flow of the river. During the last fifty years, how- 
ever, the canal system has been allowed to fall into decay ; the great 
laterals have been filled in and plowed over; in wet years the entire 
district is a stagnant marsh; in dry seasons there is a general crop 
failure. 

The reconstruction of this important canal system is now to be 
taken in hand. The district has required every adjoining community 
to furnish a quota of laborers, and a scheme of paying for the work 
has been evolved. The governor of the province has been appealed 
to, and this official, recognizing the importance of the project, has 
promised to take up the matter of funds with the provincial treasurer. 

ECUADOR. 

The only official relation which the government of the Ecuadorean 
Republic has established with respect to land reclamation is in con- 
nection with the provisions of the " Ley de Aguas " or water law, to 
which all operations for the derivation and beneficial utilization of 
flowing water must conform. The main articles of the water law 
are as follows: 

Article I. A cultivated tract of land lying below another must receive from 
the upper tract all such waters as naturally descend to it, and nothing may 
be done to interfere with a natural easement of water right either by the 
owner of the upper or lower tract. 

II. A landowner may make use of water flowing naturally through his 
property, although he be not the owner of said water, for domestic purposes, 
for irrigation, to turn mills or other machinery, or to water his stock ; but must 
provide an outlet by the natural channel for such water as he does not use 
in the manner above stated. 

III. The use which a landowner may make of the water which traverses his 
land is further limited as follows: (1) The owner of the lower tract may 
acquire certain rights of user in the water coming from the upper tract through 
peaceful possession for a period of not less than ten years from the date of 
construction of visible and substantial works for the purpose of derivation 
of the water to the lower tract. (2) His use of the water must not contravene 
any of the laws and regulations applying to navigation or raft traffic, nor 
those which define the rights of riparian owners. (3) When the water is 
required for domestic purposes for a neighboring town. In this case, part of 
the water must be released to the landowner, who must further be indemnified 
for any loss sustained. 



ECUADOR. Ill 

IV. The use of water running between two properties will belong to the 
two riparian owners in common, with the same limitations, and will be regu- 
lated in case of dispute by the competent authority. 

Y. The waters which pass through an artificial conduit belong exclusively 
to the constructor thereof, provided the legal requirements have been com- 
plied with. 

VI. The owner of a tract of land may make what use he pleases of rain 
water running along a public highway, and may turn its course for his private 
use: no prescriptive rights can deprive him of this use. 

VII. All landed property is subject to servitude for aqueducts in favor of 
owners of other lands which may not have the water necessary for their proper 
cultivation, whether the lands are to be seeded for crops, planted, or used as 
meadows ; or in favor of a community requiring water for the domestic use of 
its inhabitants, or in favor of an industrial enterprise requiring the use of water 
for the operation of its machinery. 

VIII. Houses, together with the yards, courts, orchards, and gardens ap- 
purtenant thereto, are exempt from this servitude of aqueducts. 

IX. The water must be conveyed by conduits which do not leak, and which 
do not check the flow of the water or cause rubbish to accumulate, and which 
furnish at suitable intervals the bridges needed for the management and culti- 
vation of the lands carrying the conduit. 

X. The right of aqueduct includes that of selecting a route therefor which 
shall furnish an unobstructed incline for the water and, considering the phys- 
ical conditions, will not make the work unnecessarily expensive. When these 
conditions are satisfied, the conduit shall take the route which shall cause least 
damage to the cultivated lands. Proof to the contrary being wanting, the 
shortest route will be considered the best for all parties concerned. The judge 
will as far as possible protect the interests of both parties; in doubtful cases 
he will decide in favor of the landowners. 

XI. The owner of the servient property has the right to be paid the value 
of all the land occupied by the aqueduct and of a strip not less than 1 meter 
(39.37 inches), or more by mutual agreement, on either side of the conduit 
along its entire course, and 10 per cent of the sum total in addition. He also 
has a right to be indemnified for any damage caused by the construction of 
the aqueduct, or from filtration or leakage due to defective construction. 

XII. The owner of the servient property is obliged to admit workmen thereto 
for the purpose of cleaning or repairing the aqueduct, previous notice having 
been given to the person in charge of the property. Similarly, and with similar 
notice, he must admit an inspector or care taker. 

XIII. Any landowner already possessing an aqueduct of his own upon his 
property may object to the construction of another thereon, offering passage 
through his own aqueduct to the water which the other desires to use ; provided 
that such an arrangement is not distinctly prejudicial to the party desiring to 
construct the new aqueduct. If this offer is accceped, payment must be made 
to the owner of the servient property of the value of the land occupied by the 
old aqueduct and the lateral strips as in Article XI, according to the propor- 
tional volume of the new water introduced into the aqueduct, and of a similar 
proportion of the cost of the work for the distance for which it is required by 
the other party, who shall if necessary enlarge the aqueduct at his own expense. 

XIV. If any one owner of an aqueduct on alien property desires to carry by 
it a greater volume of water, he may do so, making good any damage to the 
servient property, and if new construction is needed the provisions of Article 
XI will apply thereto. 

XV. The regulations concerning servitude of aqueducts apply also to con- 
structions for the outlet and control of excess waters, and the draining of pools 
and swamps by ditches and drainage canals. 

XVI. If an aqueduct is abandoned, the title to the property and the exclusive 
use reverts to the owner of the servient property, who is not obliged to return 
any part of the price paid him for the value of the land. 

XVII. If a stream of water belonging to private parties impedes or hinders 
communication between neighboring tracts, or interferes with irrigation or 
drainage ditches, the party interested in the water must construct the bridges, 
canals, or other works required in order to abate this nuisance, 

XVIII. Persons desiring to carry water to their property may construct not 
more than one conduit in the servient tract ; and if this is destroyed, or if the 
owner of the dominant tract abandons it, the water may be conducted by another 
channel, with consideration of the least possible damage to the servient 
property. 



112 GOVEKNMENT RECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

XIX. In the exercise of the rights referred to in the preceding articles, any 
property owner, persons dwelling in or near a settlement, or parties desiring 
to install and operate machinery, may take water from the rivers, lakes, or 
public sources. 

XX. If the party constructing an intake or canal, with the intention of carry- 
ing water, abandons the work for a period longer than one year, it will be 
understood that he has renounced his right and title in the same, and any other 
person is permitted to open a fresh intake or canal. 

PERSIA. 

Although the pressing need for the installation of some national 
system of irrigation, ojDerated or subsidized by the Government, as 
well as the certain financial success of such an enterprise, if rightly 
managed, is fully conceded by all competent authorities in Persia, 
the lately established constitutional government has not yet found it 
possible to give any consideration to the question of official participa- 
tion in land reclamation of any kind, and all that is done in that 
direction in this country at the present day in the way of irrigation 
is either the result of individual effort or of the operations of small 
syndicates or associations of irrigators. The land throughout the 
northern portion of the territory is extremely rich, and the same may 
be said of the soil in all the valleys; and even the plains below, at 
present barren wastes, could be restored to their former fertile and 
cultivated condition by the reforesting of the denuded areas of the 
foothills and the conservation of the rainfall. There are ample evi- 
dences that in ancient times the country was brought into a state of 
intense cultivation by means of irrigation, and supported thereby a 
population fully as dense as that of the State of New Jersey at the 
present day. The ruins of canals and aqueducts of solid brick and ma- 
sonry construction attest the value which the former inhabitants placed 
upon the storage and distribution of water. The present production 
of wheat and other cereals is far below the needs of the population, 
and the national interests in general would be greatly advanced if 
the Government were to undertake the development of the irrigation 
of suitable tracts somewhat after the plan pursued so successfully in 
the Punjab. 

The means whereby the chief cities, such as Teheran and Tabriz, 
are supplied with water is interesting. Both of these cities are situ- 
ated not far — Tabriz about 40 miles, Teheran about 30 — from a 
range of mountains, and the valleys among the foothills abound with 
springs. The water from these springs is conducted to the city by 
underground conduits tunneled through the clay subsoil at depths 
varying from 20 to more than 100 feet. These tunnels are about 5 
feet in diameter and are cut out of the clay without supports of any 
kind, a shaft of the same diameter as the tunnel being dug about 
every TO or 80 feet and serving to carry off the excavated earth. The 
preceding shaft is then carefully covered over and the tunnel carried 
forward for another section. In the city these shafts are provided 
with wooden caps and serve as manholes. Although there are in 
Teheran about 500 such conduits (and in Tabriz nearly as many) 
passing above and below one another on their way to the houses they 
suppl}^, and constructed, apparently, haphazard, yet one tunnel 
rarely, if ever, infringes upon another. In Teheran (and probably 



PERU — SALVADOR — SERVIA. 113 

in Tabriz also) the tunneling is done by a class of men trained to the 
■^vork from childhood and perfectly familiar ^Yith the intricate under- 
ground windings of the conduits. Each of these springs and conduits 
usually belongs to some citizen of standing, who, after the needs of 
his house and garden are supplied, furnishes water to his neighbors 
at a fixed rate. These rates may not be altered except by special 
decree, nor may the water owner refuse to furnish his neighbors with 
water when called upon to do so. In case of refusal, he is liable to be 
summoned to court and heavily fined. Plans for supplying these 
cities with water from artesian wells and piping the supply to 
each householder have been considered, but the ancient water custom 
is against the probability of financial success. The water from some 
of the mountain springs is conveyed to the city in open channels and 
furnishes irrigation to the neighboring farms and orchards. In these 
cases, also, the owner of the water must comply with the requirements 
of his water users if he has an available supply. The water rates are 
very high, and the business of furnishing water is an extremely 
profitable one. 

PERU. 

The Government of Peru does not extend any aid to irrigation 
and drainage enterprises. All the irrigation works are built and 
operated by private companies. Congress has enacted certain laws 
having reference to charges for and supply of water, but nothing 
further. 

SALVADOR. 

The only irrigation works in this country with which the authori- 
ties have any connection are those executed on a ver}^ limited scale 
in the Department of Sonsonato, which were constructed by the 
Spaniards long before the advent of the republican regime and for 
the service of which the municipality of Sonsonato charges a small 
yearly fee for the benefit of the public hospital. 

Xo drainage works exist in any section of this country; no laws 
regarding irrigation exist; no government aid or subsidy has ever 
been dispensed to such improvements; there is no geological survey 
or director thereof, and no printed data are available regarding the 
subject in general. 

SERVIA. 

The Government in Servia does not extend any special aid to land 
reclamation or irrigation. A primitive method of furnishing water 
is in use among the peasantry, who are assisted to a small extent by 
a society called the "Agricultural Cooperative Society." The system 
employed is the wheel-and-bucket — locally called the " dolap " — and 
the method of operation is similar to that emplo3'ed in India, horses 
being used instead of oxen. These dolaps are constructed by the 
cooperative society, who lease them to the farmers for a small yearly 
payment. The society receives a subsidy from the Government in 
the form of a share of the profits of the state lottery. 



114 GOVERNMENT EECLAMATION WORK IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

TURKEY. 

No official information or data of any sort have been obtainable 
with respect to the attitude of the Government of the Sublime Porte 
toward irrigation or the subject of land reclamation in general, but 
it may be stated that the Ottoman Government has rarely if ever 
directly contributed to the development of any such projects. "^Aliile 
it is true that the greater part of the country now forming the 
Asiatic dominion of the Ottoman Empire has been almost from the 
earliest recorded period the scene of irrigation operations of every 
sort and extent, from the one-man shaduf to the great canal systems 
of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys, and that the greater portion of 
the cultivated area of Asiatic Turkey owes its productivity almost 
entirely to the artificial application of moisture to the soil, yet what- 
ever development has taken place in this direction during modern 
times has been due to the energy of individuals or village communi- 
ties, aided now and then in a spasmodic and capricious manner by 
the governors of the vilayets or provinces, who have sometimes found 
it to their interest to support or even take part in the enterprise of 
the inhabitants. In this regard, however, the Statesman's Year Book 
states that in 1907 the Ottoman Government entered into a contract 
with the Anatolia Railway Company, whereby the latter agrees to 
furnish the funds (some $4,000,000) for the construction of irriga- 
tion works in the neighborhood of Konia in Asia Minor. The con- 
struction work is to begin this year, and must be finished within five 
years. The project when completed will be controlled and managed 
by the civil list department. Concerning this project, which is not 
only the most important undertaking of the sort projected in Asia in 
modern times, but one which, if fully carried out, is expected to sup- 
ply water to more than 2,000,000 acres, the following, adopted from 
an account published by a Smyrna newsj^aper, will be found of 
interest : 

The largest of the fresh-water lakes in the vilaj^et of Konia in 
Asiatic Turkey is the Bey Chehir. It is fed by numerous mountain 
streams, and has an area of nearly 25,000 acres. The difference be- 
tween the lowest level in November and the highest level in May is 
more than 16 feet. The overflow from the lake passes through the 
river of the same name, 37 miles in length, to Lake Karaviran. 
Along the southern shore of this lake numerous fissures provide a 
subterranean outlet for the ordinary overflow of the lake. The east- 
ern normal outlet of the lake is by the River Tcherchembe, which 
flows for some distance through the great salt-impregnated plain that 
forms so large a portion of the whole province, and finally disappears 
in the sands of the waste. 

The general scheme which the project is to carry out includes the 
storage of the waters of Lake Bey Chehir, the canalization of the 
river issuing therefrom, and the consequent cultivation of the bed 
of Lake Karaviran, which, under present conditions, is either in flood 
time a fetid swamp or in dry seasons a worthless waste; and in addi- 
tion a vast area now valueless, extending for many miles beyond 
Karaviran on both sides of the Baghdad Railway, will be brought 
into cultivation and rendered productive. Briefly stated, the engi- 
neering project is as follows : 



TURKEY. 115 

The Bey Chehir will be turned into an irrigation reservoir by 
means of a dam at its lower extremity, 200 feet m length and 13 feet 
above mean supply level. Sluice gates and regulators will lead the 
water to the Bey Chehir River, which will be regulated along its 
whole length of 35 miles, and will run between masonry dikes a little 
above the present embouchure to Lake Karaviran. Sluice gates from 
this embankment will provide escape for flood waters in time of ne- 
cessity and a passage into the subterranean stream. 

From the Karaviran dike a canal 18 miles in length will be con- 
structed to the Tcherchembe Eiver. This canal will have a width of 
80 feet throughout its length, and will skirt the shore of the present 
Lake Karaviran, Avhich will first be drained and then irrigated from 
the dike sluices above the lake. The canal is then turned into the 
channel of the Tcherchembe, whose course it follow^s for nearly 30 
miles, when it is carried south by means of an aqueduct across the 
river bed to the district of Choumbra. The total length of the canal 
will be 125 miles, and of the distributaries 1,250 miles. The gaug- 
ings for the last three years give the overflow from Bey Chehir Lake 
as varvin^g between 14,000,000,000 and 21,000,000,000 cubic feet (from 
about ^300,000 acre- feet to 450,000 acre-feet). When the contents of 
the Lake Bey Chehir are added to the available supply — which they 
will eventually be, as soon as the irrigation of the land on both sides 
of the Tcherchembe Canal and of Lake Karaviran is accomplished — 
it is estimated that the storage capacity and flood waters of the reser- 
voir will be sufficient for the irrigation of more than 2,000,000 acres. 
According to the contractors' estimates, the cost of the undertaking, 
providing only for the irrigation of the railway land and Lake Kara- 
viran, will amount to about $30 an acre. A scheme of assisted immi- 
gration has been drawn up, whereby the first settlers will receive 
contributions toward stocking and cultivating their farms, and it is 
expected that in this way the whole district will be rapidly settled. 
The profit accruing to the Anatolian Railway, in the shape of in- 
creased traffic, will be considerable from the first, and it was with 
this end in view that the project was originally promoted. 

O 



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